


Dangerous Liaisons

by bansheehime



Category: True Blood (TV)
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-06-26 15:45:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 50,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15666285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bansheehime/pseuds/bansheehime
Summary: Godric tries to take the initiative and make a change in the vampire world by forming a lasting connection with the Dallas Police Department. Through this new, human-vampire liaison office he meets the endearingly human Elle Hart, an eager young officer looking for recognition. And, soon, he's hooked on her odd antics. Godric/OC un-betaed





	1. The beginning of everything

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The beginning of everything**

Police Chief Mateo Ramirez was not having a good day. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep due to his old injury acting up. He'd spent the night tossing and turning, trying to find the perfect, painless position to sleep in. But, he hadn't been that lucky. Then, just as he had managed to find a good spot, and his leg had gone numb, his alarm rang, waking him and his wife. She'd gotten up without a word, simply giving him a pat on the shoulder and a soft kiss on the lips. He had had one too many sleepless nights after his injury, after all.

But, that wasn't the end of the misfortune for Mateo Ramirez for the day. Far from it. He got stuck in a traffic jam on his way to work. Next, his coffee spilled when he bumped into one of the new recruits in the lobby. Then, he found out that he didn't have a change of shirt, like he usually did, and had to borrow his old partner's, who was a couple of sizes bigger than him. And now, as the time was nearing six in the afternoon, he was sitting at his desk, looking at the received emails with a troubled look on his face. He wished, for once, that he was still drinking, so that he could take a swig of something strong and simply forget about the unease in his stomach.

A knock sounded at his door, and before Mateo Ramirez could say anything, the entrance opened. In came a man in his thirties, fairly tall, wearing a regular police officer's uniform. He marched into the office like he owned it, waving his long, muscly arms about and rambling.

"She's nuts." The man finally settled upon. "I mean, she's crazy." Then, he pulled out the chair in front of his Chief's desk and sat down with a huff. "She started a fricking car chase. At three in the afternoon." He waved his arms about once more. "Who does that? In Dallas? At three in the afternoon?"

"Please, do sit." Chief Ramirez dryly said to the man, reaching for the travel mug on his desk. He took a long drink of his coffee, which had gone cold somewhere in the last four hours, as he blatantly ignored the complaints of his new detective. "Harris." He finally put a stop to the complaining. "This is not a shrink's office. If you want to speak to one, that can be arranged. As for working with Detective Soto… You'll get used to her."

"I'll die before I get used to her, Chief Ramirez!" Recently made detective Harris exclaimed, still waving his arms in exasperation. "She's as insane as they come. I don't even know how the crazy woman made detective."

Chief Ramirez slammed his open palm onto the surface of his table, now glaring at the man sitting on the other side of his desk. "Now you listen to me, Harris." Began the Latino man, his eyes flashing in a rare display of rage. It was then, that you could see just how dedicated he had been in his early days, climbing up the social ladder, all the way to his current position. "Soto may be a God damned crazy woman, but she is the best God damned crazy detective which you will find in the state of Texas. I am giving you, here, an opportunity to learn from the best." Then, seeing that he had properly frightened the recently made detective, Chief Ramirez leaned back in his chair with a small, agitated huff. "Do you want to learn from Soto?" He asked after a few seconds. "Or should I reassign you to Montgomery in narcotics?"

"No, Chief." The young detective immediately replied. "I'm glad to be able to shadow Soto." He grumbled, getting up. "I'll do my best not to get killed while doing so." And then, recently made detective Harris was out the door.

Chief Mateo Ramirez leaned back in his chair, enjoying the way the back tilted, making his position all the more comfortable. "Ungrateful cabron." He mumbled into his chin, grabbing his coffee mug. After a sip, he placed it back down onto his desk, grasping for the mouse on his desk. He moved it left and right, waking up his computer, and then frowned as soon as he saw the open email. Right, he had just gotten that thing to brighten up his day. With another sigh, Chief Ramirez dug through his pockets for his cellphone, dialing a number from his speed dial.

"What's wrong?" His wife picked up. Her tone of voice was worried, as always when he called her during his work hours.

"I'm fine, darling." He answered, his voice calm. He heard her let out a sigh, before the distinct sound of the hospital intercom came from her end of the line. "Everything is fine here." Chief Ramirez assured once more, now fiddling with the pen on his desk. "I was wondering if I could ask a favor, though."

"So, you will be costing me both my sleep and my break today? Aaah-ah! Dios mío!" Chief Ramirez could hear the smile in his wife's complaining voice and he couldn't stop his own little grin.

"I promise that I will make it up to you, Paulina." He said, clicking the pen on and drawing little doodles on his notepad. "You know that new restaurant on 3rd? We could go there this Friday? Just the two of us…" His wife laughed, interrupting him.

"We'll see. I have work, too. Remember, Mateo?" She told him with a sigh. The Chief stopped moving his pen, making one large dot in distaste. With him working in the police department and his wife at the local hospital, they could rarely manage to synchronize their schedules enough to go on a proper date. And, when they did, they would almost always be interrupted by a ringing of one of their cellphones. "What do you need?" Paulina asked gently, breaking him away from his thoughts.

"I was wondering if you could bring me a clean shirt?"

* * *

It was a few hours, a dozen reports, two more disgruntled officers and a clean shirt later that Chief Mateo Ramirez's phone rang. He picked it up automatically, not halting his typing on the keyboard.

"Ramirez." He said, the phone receiver in between his ear and shoulder. The female voice from the other side, the young intern from a neighboring town of Glen Rose, made the Chief halt in his typing immediately. "Send them up." He instructed the young girl, looking around his office and his desk. As soon as his phone receiver hit the base, Chief Ramirez started arranging the random things in front of him. He was just tossing his last bunch of messy files into the top drawer of his desk when a knock on his door sounded.

"Come in." Instructed the Chief, taking a deep breath and quickly smoothing down his clean, pressed, new button up. For a moment, he wondered if he should welcome them standing. Surely, that would be more welcoming. Then again, he would seem uncomfortable in his own office. He couldn't have that. Gritting his teeth, the Chief sat back in his chair, just in time to see the door open.

You could practically hear the silence in the room as three people entered. The first one was a tall man, with wide shoulders and alert eyes. He entered the room like he owned it, cowboy boots clanking as he walked, taking long, purposeful steps. He surveyed everything around him before finally looking at the Chief in his seat behind his desk.

The next person to come in was a woman. She was obviously of Latina descent, with her medium length, jet black hair pulled partially back, leaving her face completely open. She walked with a grace and calmness which promised both pain and wonder. Chief Ramirez could easily tell that her clothing, in black, white and grey was quite expensive and most likely bought in one of the numerous luxury, designer stores. He could hear his wife's voice in his head already, commenting on the seemingly professional, yet still alluring choice of the woman's attire.

The final person who walked in took some time before entering, as he had probably been taking in the wall of the fallen police officers right next to the Chief's office. The first thing which Chief Ramirez noticed was that the last man was in fact, not a man at all. He was a boy, a teenager. And, Chief Ramirez wouldn't give him more than eighteen years under his belt. The youth walked in with a strange sense of calm, yet his eyes held a fair amount of curiosity as he looked about. It was completely different from the first man, who had been searching the office for threats, with a sarcastic smirk on his lips. The teenager was dressed surprisingly simple, in a manner which betrayed his age and nature. Chief Ramirez knew right away that this person was not a teenager at all.

"Welcome." Mateo Ramirez greeted, hand extended, jumping on his feet now that he was being stared down by the tall, muscular man in a cowboy hat who had entered first. Even when he stood, he was still shorter than almost all of his guests. It was only the teenager, who had entered last, who was at his eye level. "I am Mateo Ramirez, Chief of the Dallas Police Depar-"

"We know who you are, Mr. Ramirez." Stated the woman in her accented voice. Despite the fact that she'd interrupted him, her statement didn't seem to be meant as an offence. "I am Isabel Beaumont, First Lieutenant of Area Nine." The woman, Isabel, ignored the extended hand which now migrated from the first person to enter towards her. Chief Ramirez nodded a couple of times jerkily, letting his hand fall to his side and wiping his palms on his trousers. Suddenly, he felt nervous at the silky voice of the woman in front of him.

"Feh." Huffed the tallest person in the visiting group, still staring the Chief of police down.

"This is my associate, Stan Baker, Second Lieutenant of Area Nine and our Sheriff, Godric." Isabel kept introducing in her alluring, slightly accented voice. Chief Ramirez stepped away from the man, who he now knew was named Stan, finding that he would much rather deal with the seemingly teenager Sheriff of the city. The deceptively young looking man in question had refocused his attention from the wall of books as soon as he had been introduced, and Chief Ramirez found the Sheriff staring at him with grey, inquisitive eyes. For a man who'd worked on a number of cases in Dallas and seen criminals and victims and traumatized police officers and looked them all in the eye, Chief Ramirez found the seemingly young man's gaze to be quite unsettling. Even without knowing the age of the vampire standing in front of him, he could tell that this person had seen more than any one man should and lived to tell the tale.

"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Chief Ramirez." The Sheriff finally spoke in his own accent, which the Chief couldn't place, walking towards the only human in the room. He extended his hand, much to the surprise of all the people present, and grasped the Chief's own, which has risen out of habit, in a gentle, but cold handshake. "I'm looking forward to the future cooperation of our departments."

"Of course." Nodded Chief Ramirez, forcing his body to relax and his lungs to breathe. He was no sympathizer or vampire hater, and he certainly had no fear of death. But, being in a room with three of them at the same time, alone and quite aware of what their abilities could be, Chief Ramirez was reminded of the numerous life and death situations he'd been in throughout his career. "Please, sit." He motioned to the chairs in front of his desk to the three vampires, who were standing a bit too still and a bit too stiff for his liking. "Shall we discuss the terms and details of our cooperation?"

Sheriff Godric nodded with a small smile and sat down, his lieutenants following suit.

* * *

Suddenly, the vampire Sheriff stopped talking. Mateo Ramirez gave him an inquisitive look, not really sure what he'd done wrong. After all, they had just had a long discussion, almost the whole night through, and frankly, he'd found this man, no, this vampire, Godric, quite likeable. That was, if you ignored his Second Lieutenant, the vampire who'd kept tossing glares left and right, along with scoffing at almost everything that they managed to agree on. The other Lieutenant, Isabel, she'd left nearly half an hour after their meeting had started after receiving a quick phone call.

"Sheriff?" Asked the Chief tentatively. Despite the fact that he'd been talking to this, seemingly young, vampire, the Chief had read a number of brutal reports and even seen some of the nauseating pictures from the crime scenes of vampire aftermath.

"Forgive me, Chief Ramirez." Godric replied, turning his pale eyes back to the Chief in a motion which was a bit too calm and measured for a human being. "It seems that we've stayed for too long. Dawn is approaching and my associate and I will have to take our leave at this time." The other vampire stood, mumbling something under his breath, which Chief didn't doubt was against the only human in the room, and headed for the door. Godric stood as well, pushing the chair back towards the desk.

"Oh!" Chief Ramirez realized, jumping to his feet in an instant. "Of course!" He nodded, rushing around his desk to meet the slowly moving vampire Sheriff. He grasped the vampire's hand in another handshake, which earned him one more scoff from Stan. "It has been a real pleasure discussing our future arrangement, Sheriff. I will be sure to send you a list of possible candidates as soon as possible." Chief Ramirez almost bit his tongue when he realized he'd repeated the same word two times in his nervousness. If his wife had been there, she would've undoubtedly teased him.

"It has been mine, as well." The vampire Sheriff replied with a small smile, allowing the human's warm hand to squeeze his cold skin for a second longer. "I will be looking forward to the list which you will send." And with those words, Mateo Ramirez, Chief of Dallas Police, was left standing in his office alone.

"Damn." He cursed, rubbing a hand over his face. With a sigh, he gathered his things, too tired to keep working. He would need to sleep on it before he started making decisions regarding this new thing which the vampire Sheriff had been strongly suggesting. He would need someone open-minded. Well, enough open-minded to work with vampires. Perhaps someone from the new recruits from the Academy.

No, Mateo Ramirez shook his head as he grabbed his suit jacket and threw it on. He couldn't send the Sheriff an inexperienced, snot-nosed greenhorn. That would just look bad for the department. He should send someone with experience. Someone who can work the system and know the process well. Someone who can sift through files and evidence with precision. He definitely needed someone of detective quality.

As he locked the door of his office, detective Soto's grinning face appeared in his mind. That woman was nothing but trouble, but she was, really, the best of the best. Though, sending her to the vampire Sheriff would really hurt his homicide division in the end. That wouldn't do. Perhaps someone she'd taught personally?

As Mateo Ramirez descended the stairs, rather than using the elevator, as his wife always berated him to do, he began thinking back to the time when detective Soto had been merely Rosalina Soto, a graduate of the Academy. She had been one of the most troublesome, even back then, but, because of different things. She pointed out the detectives' mistakes or would guess the perp from listening to big case tapes on her own time. Generally, she'd been a pain in his rear for the most of her career.

But, he still couldn't forget that picture on the day when he'd given her the books to study for her detective exam. She'd been too young and too bold, yet, he'd known that she would make a great investigator. She'd smiled a full smile back then, showing two rows of straight, pearly white teeth, a sight which wasn't seen too often, and her dark, almost black, eyes had brightened so much he'd thought that she would cry tears of joy. And then, she'd proceeded to hug him tight and run out of his office, long, wavy black hair trailing behind her. He'd known that day that she would make detective, no matter what, and that she'd be a fine one, too.

"Bye, Tasha." Mateo Ramirez told the young intern from Glen Rose who was snoozing at the front desk now. She jumped, alert, and formally greeted him and wished him a good night.

* * *

Godric rose from his sleep early. With a small sigh, he went about his evening routine without paying much mind to it. He checked his phone, a silly gadget his progeny was surely a bit too fond of, and headed towards the living room of his nest. He placed his cell down, looking out the large windows and watching the sun slowly fade behind the Dallas skyline. It had been a few centuries since he had begun rising before the night began, but, it wasn't until the modern age that he had had a chance like this, to sit and watch the actual dusk. It was a wonder of the world, truly, this modern technology.

He stood there for a moment, looking at the sun, imagining, remembering. It had been such a long time ago. He was ancient, after all. He almost couldn't remember the feel of the sun's rays on his skin. The sweating during a run in the lit-up woods. The laughter of the children playing in the creek. The excitement of the men going on a hunt. The warmth of the fire by which he sat. He could remember it, though. Vaguely, but it was there. Like a memory from a dream, or a dream of a dream. He wasn't even sure if he would recognize the faces of the people he'd spent his childhood living with. But, he knew one face which he would most definitely recognize. That face haunted his dayrest every time.

An alert sounded from somewhere in the house, a beep from a machine, and Godric looked away from the window. As he slowly walked, at a human pace, towards the source of the noise, he felt the sunlight leaving his form, no warmth, just light, as it finally set down behind the horizon. Night had begun.

He sat down behind his computer in his office, opening it and sifting through his mailbox. It was a wonder, truly, this new century. All the things they'd thought up. Truly, a wonder. His Child had been ecstatic to send him a number of letters as soon as he'd made an address for himself. No, not letters, the vampire corrected himself, electronic mail. How silly they seemed, all of the new names for old things which appeared every decade or so. He'd never had much trouble understanding them throughout his years, but, he'd never really bothered with learning them and using them himself, either.

"Has the human police sent their portfolios?" Isobel asked from behind him, and Godric was certain that she hadn't even peeked over his shoulder to the mailbox full of alerts. He didn't really like opening mail. Only the important ones. Besides, why would he want to contact a hot teenager who was interested in sexual intercourse?

"Only just." Replied the Sheriff. "It was fast work, for them." He mused, opening the desired message. There was a short note which he skimmed through taking in the information that the Chief wanted to meet with him when the vampire had the choice narrowed to three officers, and finally, at the bottom, Godric saw the portfolios. He clicked the appropriate buttons and opened them at a human pace, always a tad hesitant on the machine of the new age. It was logical, yes, but foreign to him. He preferred paper copies of everything.

"Here." Isobel had vanished and reappeared by his side. She placed the paperback portfolios on his desk and Godric shut the laptop, pushing it away. Yes, he liked this much better.

"Join me, will you?" He asked, yet, demanded in a soft voice. His second in command sat down on one of the comfortable sofa chairs in the office and waited. The vampire Sheriff slowly sifted through the pages, looking over the information provided. "I like these." He finally decided, handing four portfolios over to Isabel. "Do a thorough search on them, would you? I want to know everything."

"Yes, Sheriff." Isabel rose, taking the papers.

"I will be looking forward to hearing your opinion." Godric smiled before the woman vanished from in front of his eyes. He looked down, taking in the pictures of the people he'd chosen. Two men and two women, all fairly young. He hoped that this would work, truly.

* * *

"Have you ever thought about it, detective Soto?"

She trembled at the tone of his voice. It was interested, almost amused, seemingly caring, yet terrifyingly cold. She knew that she could run at any point. Run. And never see him again. Pull out her gun and shoot him. She should've shot him ten times over now. He was a monster, after all.

"What do you think about it, detective Soto?"

He asked and she grit her teeth, clenching her hand. She thought that he was a crazy son of a bitch, that's what she thought. That he should be locked up in a goddamn facility and forced never to see the light of day again. She thought that he was delusional.

"Is it worth it, detective Soto?"

She didn't look up at him. Instead, she stared at her service weapon on the table. Two inches. She needed two more inches and then she could snatch it up. She needed that gun. She wasn't going down like this. Not without a fight.

"Is it worth the pain, detective Soto?"

She closed her eyes, an image flashing behind her eyelids in the dark. A young man, barely in his twenties, behind the steering wheel. He was slumped forward, neck at an unnatural angle and eyes wide open. Wide open brown eyes staring right at her. You. You.  _You._  It is  _your_  fault.  _You_  did nothing.  _You_ chased. You  _chased_. Why did you  _stop_?

"Do you want it to stop, detective Soto?"

He asked her, cold hands coming around her shoulders, embracing her slowly. She shivered, but bit the inside of her mouth and stayed strong. She wouldn't give in. She wouldn't give him the pleasure. He was staring at her. Brown eyes. Wide open. Someone's son. Someone's lover. Someone's brother. It was  _her_ fault.  _She_  didn't stop. She just couldn't  _stop._  It was her goddamned fault.

"Do they haunt you, detective Soto?"

He asked her softly, gently, right next to her ear, like whispering to a lover. His cold hands gave one last caress of her arms and he pulled away, taking the coolness with him. She was left burning, numb, alone. She was so alone. And he wouldn't stop staring. Just sitting there, on her own couch, across the room, staring. He was dead and sitting there. Dead. His eyes were dead. Wide, brown eyes. Dried blood matted in his curly, sandy hair. Neck bent unnaturally. He was staring at her. You. You did this. True. She had done it. She just couldn't  _stop._

"Would you like me to help you, sweet Rosalina?"

She reached forward, grabbing her gun.

BANG!

* * *

**That's all folks!**

* * *

**If anyone wants to beta this, feel free to ping me :)**

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**Some info about the story:**

**Length of story: Will have multiple chapters, not sure how many**  
 **Length of chapters: Each will be 4k words or above**  
 **The frequency of updates: Irregular (quality over quantity; also depending on feedback – reviews are food for the soul)**  
 **Pairing: Godric/OC**  
 **Rating: T (It will get a bit gory and there probably will be a few intimate scenes, later on, proper warnings will be at the beginning of the chapters)**  
 **Timeline: Starts before Godric is introduced in the True Blood timeline, will follow through it,** **though**

* * *

**See you next time! :D**


	2. Personal

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Personal**

"Heart!" The woman behind the counter called, getting the attention of a young police officer in a uniform.

"Here!" The blonde in the uniform pushed off the wall and crossed the room in seconds, reaching the counter. She fumbled with her wallet for a second before pulling out some cash.

"Two lattes, caffè and iced cinnamon dolce, grande and an espresso macchiato, doppio. Also, a tall caffè mocha and a venti caramel macchiato with extra syrup." The server behind the counter listed the order, placing the Styrofoam cups one by one onto the counter. The officer nodded along, confirming the coffees on her mental list. "Will that be all?" The server asked.

"Yes, ma'am." Replied the policewoman with a nod. She looked at the girl who was now placing the coffees together into a cardboard holder for her to carry. She seemed like she was a high schooler, or maybe in her first years of college. Definitely young. She had a smile on her face, but it was clearly forced, as it didn't crinkle around her eyes, like a real one should. Finally, the officer noted the rubber bracelet around the younger girl's wrist. "Which breed is it?" She asked curiously, while the server was typing the order into the cash register.

"Sorry?" The girl faltered in her practiced motions.

"Your dog, which breed is it?" The officer asked one more, smiling politely at the young girl. "I've got a Cane Corso back home. He's probably destroying the flat while I'm away." Instantly, the server's whole demeanor changed.

"Oh! Mine's a lab." She smiled and this time, it reached her eyes. It was much more attractive than the automatic grin that she undoubtedly held glued on her face the whole day. "He's going to be seven soon, but he's still as crazy as he used to be when he was young."

"Labs are so rewarding, right?" The officer replied, reading the price of her coffees from the cash register display and fumbling with her wallet for a mere second. "My father used to have one a long time ago. Wonderful service dog."

"They are amazing, but they do eat  _a lot_." The cashier commented with a small laugh. "Thank you for buying at Starbucks, please come again!" She called after the officer as the young woman struggled to both hold the coffees and stuff her wallet back into her back pocket at the same time. "Erica!" The server called out the next person in line.

The young officer managed to open the glass door of Starbucks with her foot, holding it for the person who was coming inside, both of her hands tenderly manning the coffees. She had spilled her order once on her way to work and her boss hadn't been too happy about it. It took her mere minutes to walk across the sunny parking lot, heat making beads of sweat appear on her forehead. It was going to be one of those days, she knew it.

You know, one of the hot days in summer, when you could barely breathe from heat when you weren't inside a room with the AC blasting full throttle? Yeah, exactly one of those days. And, living in Dallas really didn't help her. You'd think she'd be used to the Texas heat by then.

The car was like an oven. As soon as she laid down the coffees into their spot, the young officer started the vehicle and turned on the AC. With a cough from the blast of hot air, she opened the window, as well, attempting to air out the car. The vehicle rumbled out of the parking lot in front of the small mall and soon, the officer was on her way.

The trip to the police station was a rather short one, filled with random lyrics of pop songs coming from the radio and the occasional cough of her car's AC. She could've made the road with her eyes closed, probably, considering how many times she'd driven it and been driven on it. However, she wasn't about to attempt that feat yet. Her brother probably would've done it, the delinquent he was.

She, however, preferred to people watch as she drove. She liked to take in little details about a random passersby and then try and guess things about their lives. Like the young server from the Starbucks. The officer had seen the dog shelter donations bracelet and filed that knowledge away into her mental safe. Why? She couldn't tell you. She would sometimes think that it was a thing her father had left her with. Constant vigilance. Overwhelming curiosity. Perhaps it was just her own silliness and overly nosy nature, though.

Finding parking near the police station was always a challenge. Today, though, luck had obviously been on her side. She managed to slide into a spot just as a car left. After a momentary struggle with her sunglasses, coffees and locking her car, she heaved a sigh of relief and headed for the familiar doors of the station. The rush of cold air hit her as she entered, instantly cooling her bare neck and the damp spot on the back of her uniform.

"Hey, Tasha." The officer greeted. "Is the Chief in yet?" One of the coffees made its way to the young intern's desk from the carton holder.

"You haven't heard, Ellie?" Tasha asked, eyes wide behind her glasses, which already made them look larger than they were.

"Heard what?" The officer asked, frowning.

"It's all hands on deck downtown." The intern explained. She held up a finger when the phone rang, picking up with an automatic response. She redirected the call and then focused on the young woman in front of her desk once again. "Detective Soto committed suicide last night."

The officer's mouth fell open, her fingers almost letting the coffees splash onto the floor. She managed to collect herself though. The idea of detective Soto killing herself was alien to her. The woman in question was the best of the best. She was one of the youngest detectives in the state and she'd solved numerous crimes without further casualties. While her methods had been considered unorthodox, she had results, which was important. Just half a year ago, she'd been scouted for the FBI by an agent consulting on a case. She could already see the detective in a proper suit, flashing her FBI credentials. That detective Soto committing suicide was unimaginable.

"S-suicide?" The officer managed, shocked.

"Oh, Ellie." Tasha gave her a pitying look. Not many people at the police station had liked detective Soto. But, they had all loved her. She had been a woman with a sunny personality with impromptu, out of the box ideas. "I know that you admired her… But it's true…" The intern trailed off, not sure how to comfort the officer. But, there hadn't been any need for that.

"Officer Hart!" A male voice with a slight Spanish accent to his words bellowed from across the room. Instantly, the shell-shocked look vanished from the young blonde's face and she looked up. "You're with me." Chief Ramirez ordered as he stormed through the lobby. Over his shoulder he added. "And bring that coffee with you."

"Yes, sir!" Elle Hart, the young blonde officer replied, taking his coffee and her own from the holder, leaving the rest on the intern's desk. She didn't have the time to worry if they would find their way to their owners now.

* * *

The place was crawling with police. Elle had ridden in the passenger seat of the Chief's large SUV, not even flinching when he'd accepted his coffee and turned on the siren, lights blazing. He'd gotten them to the old downtown building in record time and parked hazardously in the street. Though, that had obviously been a trend with the rest of the police officers.

"Sir, do you think she really-?" Elle trailed off, not sure how to form the sentence. She'd heard of numerous people committing suicide. She'd even seen a young girl take a nosedive from the roof once. But, it had never been anyone she knew. Now… Now she was numb.

Chief Mateo heaved a sigh. "I don't know, Elle." He told her honestly. For a moment, she saw the pain and grief on his face. She'd forgotten how close the Chief had been to detective Soto. He'd practically seen her through her whole career as a police officer. He'd guided her on her path to a detective. She'd walked in on them after hours numerous times in his office, drinking a cup of coffee and laughing over one thing or the other. Detective Soto had probably been like a daughter to him. "But, we will find out what happened, regardless." And he was out of the car before she could reply.

Elle followed the Chief out and then into the building. Some officers gave her glares and others small nods. But, she was used to that. The fact that her father was a retired cop had the police station split into hating her or loving her. Unfortunately, both groups thought that she had privileges since her father's former partner was now Chief of Police. She'd tried denying it in the beginning. Then, she'd started simply nodding. Finally, at this point, she was just ignoring the well-placed verbal jabs.

They passed detective Harris on their way up the stairs. Elle had never seen the rather handsome man look so grief-stricken. He was sitting on the old, dirty stairs, drying blood on his pure white, clearly pressed, shirt. And, for once, he didn't smell like the nice combination of aftershave and car fresher. Instead, the smell of sweat and metal floated towards Elle as she neared him.

"Chief…" Harris said, spotting the man. His eyes were bloodshot and his muscled arms trembled. "I- I…She… This has to be a nightmare." His head dropped into his hands. Chief Mateo frowned, his lips a thin line. He patted Harris on the shoulder as they passed him, and left without a word. On the top of the stairs, right in front of the open door of detective Soto's flat, there was a group of SOCOs. The head CSA, an older man named Joseph Johnson, greeted them with a solemn nod.

"Give me the breakdown, Jo." Chief Mateo asked in a tight, professional tone. Elle noticed that he was focusing his eyes only on the CSA in front of him, not daring to look into the open flat. With another nod, Joseph spoke.

"She was DOA." His voice was a soft rumble, like he was ancient. Elle has always thought that he would be a great storyteller with a raspy tone and calm demeanor. Now, she wasn't sure if she'd ever get this scene out of her head. "It was a single gunshot wound from her service weapon. Point-blank. Gun residue on her fingers. There was no struggle. Nothing out of place except the chair and vase that Harris knocked over."

"What is Mary saying?" Chief asked. Mary Vanderwalt was their ME. She had moved to Dallas more than three years ago, seeking a calmer environment than Chicago. However, so far, she'd had no luck with that.

"Nothing yet." Joseph replied. "She might be open to ruling it a suspicious death, pending investigation. However, other than that, I doubt that she'll be willing to put her neck on the line."

"Thanks, Jo." Chief Mateo patted the CSA's shoulder and finally stepped towards the room. He took a deep breath, as if gathering his courage, stood a little straighter, and then walked in. Elle went to follow him, but Joseph's hand shot out, still holding a bag of evidence.

"That's not a place for you, kid." He told her with kind eyes. "Would you help an old man with his evidence and wait for Mateo downstairs?" Elle managed a mute nod, her throat constricted.

* * *

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Elle was given a number of mind-numbing tasks. She'd chauffeured evidence, made certain that the chain of custody was solid and stood at the entrance of the building where Detective Soto's apartment was. The eight hours, which usually dragged on, had muddled into a single long line of fuzzy heat and muffled conversation. All the while, Elle couldn't help the way her mind created pictures, one worse than the other. For once, she didn't like the fact that her father's days in homicide had given her more than enough scenarios from the folders he'd brought home.

"Officer Hart." A man's voice broke her scenario number forty-eight, where Detective Soto was crying, drinking a bottle of cheap whiskey and then blowing her brains out. Elle looked up, forcing her eyes to stop focusing on a blurry spot on the other side of the street.

"Sir?" Detective Yun stood in front of her, holding a bottle of water. He was a fairly handsome Asian man, if that was your area of interest. He had warm dark eyes and tousled longish hair which fell everywhere after he got out of his car. Not to mention that he worked in the homicide division, as well. He'd transferred a few years ago from the K-9 unit of DPD. But, Elle didn't like him because of his looks or charm, like Tasha did. Instead, she liked him because he had been one of the rare policemen to actually fight for her father's position in the department.

"You've been standing there like a statue for the last five hours." Detective Yun gave her a small smile, squinting against the setting Dallas sun. Eight, she wanted to correct him, but bit her tongue. "Here you go." He handed her the water. Elle took it and only when she drank did she realize how thirsty she'd been. Truly, she was like her father when she started playing scenarios in her head. Time and space ceased to matter, leaving only the case. "You did good today, keeping a level head." The detective's words made her throat constrict and Elle nodded in silence, afraid that she would lose control of her voice if she spoke.

"O3 to RHD portable." Came a female voice with a static hum over the radio on Detective Yun's belt. Elle recognized Tasha's voice easily. He picked it up and pressed the button before speaking.

"This is RHD Yun."

"Two-Six to relieve Officer Hart." Elle almost spit out the sip of water she'd taken. Her head snapped up, eyes connecting to Detective Yun's curious gaze. Chief Ramirez had sent out a direct order that she be relieved of her duties at the crime scene. She opened her mouth to protest, when Detective Yun put his hand up.

"RHD Yun copy." The Asian man replied. "Sending Officer Hart to O3." He placed the radio back on his belt. "Off you go, Hart. We'll take care of the rest." He motioned for the other man who was guarding the entrance, albeit he had been sitting on the stairs and eating a slice of pizza for the last couple of minutes.

"Yes, sir." Elle thanked him and headed for the police vehicle which had been left for the two officers on guard duty. The keys were in the ignition, and the AC didn't cough like it did in her car. She moved the seat up before starting the vehicle and pulling out of the parking space. Soon, she was driving smoothly through Dallas.

With the sun setting, the heat was getting easier to handle. She rolled down the window and let the cooling air tangle the hair in her ponytail and cool the sweat on her skin. Elle could feel the clammy layer remain on her skin, as well as a telltale prickling sensation right below her eyes, on her cheekbones. She'd scored a nasty sunburn and a sheen of sweat. Yes, she needed a good, long shower and plenty of yoghurt.

The bass of the radio flared up and Elle found herself nodding to the random pop song which was playing. She murmured the lyrics, guessing some and knowing some. But, despite the fact that she was enjoying the moment, she could still hear the bang of the gun going off somewhere in her mind. And then, Detective Harris screaming as he pushed the chair to get to his partner, sobbing on the floor. Then, the vase broke as he scrambled up to get a phone and call 911.

Elle was glad when she finally pulled up next to her own car at the police station. She jumped out, ran up the stairs and threw the, now empty, water bottle into the recycling bin. Tasha was on the phone when Elle came up to the desk, and she put up one finger, signaling that she couldn't speak. The secretary mouthed 'Chief's Office' and then continued speaking into the phone with a smile fixed on her face.

Elle gave a nod and went towards the elevator. Since Tasha had arrived, the young woman had gotten much better at her job. Elle could remember the first day, when the poor intern had managed to mess up all of her calls, overlap two meetings, and send the wrong detainee to the prison. Now, seeing her sweetly smile and talk into the phone, it seemed as if Tasha had been doing the job her whole life. Elle envied her seamless actions a bit. Despite working with her father on numerous police cases, she was used to keeping all of her thoughts to herself at the police station.

The elevator dinged and she got out, passing the fallen officers' pictures in the hall before entering the Chief's office. She wondered if Detective Soto's smirking face would appear on the wall, too.

"Does nobody knock anymore?" The Chief's tone was annoyed, but not mad. Elle offered him a small apologetic sorry.

"I understood that you wanted to see me in a hurry, Chief."

"Come. Sit. Who cares anymore." He threw his hands up and that was when Elle noticed that they weren't alone in the office. There were two more people there, a man and a woman. They were both seated in front of the Chief. As Elle walked towards the open chair, the man turned to take a look at her.

Elle estimated him a bit older than her, in his early thirties. He had a relatively round face, beady eyes and he was arching his eyebrow at her. The woman, on the other hand, didn't turn. She didn't have to. Elle knew from the telltale tight fishtail braid which fell down the woman's back exactly who that was. Sonya Vasiliev was an anomaly in the DPD. With her Russian father, who'd married her mother from a small town in Texas, she was the epitome of strange. But, the woman had easily won respect in the police department, despite her heritage. She was known as the Queen of the Punching Bag, as she'd destroyed it multiple times. Also, she was the favored winner of the Policemen's Monthly Beatdown, so far, only bested three times by Detective Harris.

As Elle sat down, a light knock came from the door and a young man entered. He was also in uniform, like Elle, with two large coffees in his hands. His hair was blond and slightly wavy and he had a nice tan on his face, showing freckles which splayed over it. His fingers were long, and Elle would swear that they were quite strong, too.

"I'm sorry I was late, sir." He smiled an easygoing grin at the Chief. "Wanted to pick you a small cup of joe on the way 'cause I figured we'd be having this meeting alone. Now, I realize that there's a tree stump in a Louisiana swamp with a higher IQ." He had a pleasant southern accent which was hard to find in the modern Dallas these days.

"Now, now, no need for that." Chief Ramirez waved the young man off. "Just sit down, will you, officer Dean?"

"Sir." Spoke the blond man, pushing one large coffee across the Chief's desk towards the man and then plopping down. He tipped the remaining cup towards the two women, offering them the beverage. Sonya merely looked at him soundlessly with a glare and Elle shook her head and whispered a polite refusal with a smile. "Okay then." He seemed giddy at the idea of having the coffee regardless.

Elle saw Chief Ramirez take a deep breath, slowly blowing it out of his nose. He didn't touch the coffee which had been offered to him. Instead, the man looked from one to the next person in the room slowly. Now, Elle figured that this wasn't an easy matter. And, if it was something which had the Chief stressing out, she'd better be ready for it. Yet, there was still the distant shot of a gun running in the back of her mind, Detective Soto's usually smirking face bloody and lifeless on the floor.

"Do any of you have problems with fangers?" The Chief fixed them with a glare, one by one. Sonya scoffed openly. The blond man kept drinking his coffee with a small shrug. The other male officer seemed to ponder, but said nothing.

"I have a problem with that name for their kind." Elle spoke up. The Chief's glare fixed her, and she wondered if she'd just flunked some sort of a test. "You'll forgive me if I overstep, sir, but as far as I understand their community, the term 'fanger' is as close to 'nigger' as it can get?" The Chief leaned back in his chair, but gave her a small look in his eye which he got every time Elle did something right and he wasn't allowed to show how much it pleased him. It was a small twinkle and a crinkle under his right eye.

"As you well know the vampire community in Dallas is quite extensive. Naturally, as an all-inclusive city we've had issues of interspecies incidents." The Chief spoke gravely. "Vampire laws are too harsh for humans to bear. And, most of them haven't been updated for centuries."

"Are we talking about cutting off a hand for stealing kind of laws or shooting someone on your property kind of laws?" The blond, officer Dean, spoke up with a curious tone.

"We are talking about the eye for an eye and pint of flesh for a debt kind of laws." The other male officer flinched, his hand going towards his service weapon. "Now, their Sheriff in the area is a fairly reasonable person. We've been cooperating on forming a liaison between our offices in order to deal with this supe tormenta de mierda." The Chief leaned forward again, staring each of them down. "Let me make this completely clear: this is a  _voluntary_ assignment." He paused. "If you're not interested in working with vampires, head out now. No repercussions."

Elle didn't move. Vampires. She had nothing against them personally. However, she had seen some of the images of their aftermath. It wasn't pretty, that was for sure. But, in her opinion generalization was the worst kind of assumption one could make about anything. She'd been subject to it numerous times and she was not about to allow herself to do it to anyone else. Even if it meant working with vampires. The mere thought sent a chill down her spine. Talk about heading into the den of wolves.

"Alright then." Chief Ramirez sat back up. "You four have passed two screenings on-paper for now. Mine and the vampire Sheriff's. He had requested that he meet each candidate in person, in order to assess you. Pack up, because you're off your usual duties for the night, and head out to this address." The Chief turned on the printer and four copies popped out of the machine. He handed each of them one.

It was an address in Downtown with a map on the side, giving short instructions as to how one should get there. Elle stood as soon as they were dismissed and headed out. She glanced back to see the Chief sigh, rake his hand over his face and then take up the coffee on his desk with a wrinkle under his mouth. He was cautious for some reason. Hence, she would have to be too.

**That's all for now!**

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**Special thanks to frelia567 for bookmarking the story.**

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**I'll be looking forward to your feedback!**


	3. Interviews and crimes

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 3: Interviews and crimes**

The night was pleasantly cool. Elle had quickly swapped out her uniform for her civilian clothes. In her T-shirt and jeans, she felt a bit more relaxed. The map the Chief had given her was carefully folded and placed where her cell usually went, where she could see it as she drove. Through the window, which was rolled all the way down now, came sounds of the streets, smells of the food being cooked at various stalls and the chatter of the people walking by.

Elle felt her stomach growl. She'd missed lunch. A quick stop, she promised herself and parked at one of the over the counter food shops. She jumped out of her car, leaving the blinkers on.

"What will it be, ma'am?" The boy behind the counter seemed like a high schooler.

"Any recommendations?" Elle asked, scanning through the list of available foods. They had plenty of chicken, which made her stomach growl again.

"I always reckon that the tandoori is the best way to go. But, the garlic-ros-mayo is a favorite, too." The boy grinned. "If you order the medium or large, you get a half-price cola, too, ma'am."

"Alright, I'll take one of each, medium, and let's forget the cola, shall we?" Elle grinned. The boy looked at her in shock, spluttering for a second.

"The portions aren't too small, ma'am." He clarified, gloved hands reaching back to grab a bread for the burger. "Here's the medium size."

"Looks perfect." Elle nodded. It was a bit smaller than her hand when completely spread out. "How long have I got?"

"Um, err, five minutes tops." The boy still seemed shocked.

"Perfect. Be back in a jiffy." Elle turned around and looked across the street. She could've sworn she'd spotted a drink place as she was driving. There! A shop with a neon sign across the street told her that they sold fresh juice, made from fruit directly. She jaywalked across the street, avoiding the cars expertly and hurried to buy herself a large drink, melon and mango. By the time she came back, her burgers were done, too. She tipped the kid for his advice, took her food and jumped back into her car.

With a content sigh, the young police officer dug into her food, while driving with one hand. True enough, both burgers were quite good. She couldn't help releasing one more content sigh as she crumpled up the wrapping and slurped down her juice. Tossing everything into one plastic bag, she vowed to properly dispose of it this time, instead of her dog having to sniff it out in her car.

When she arrived at the address on paper, it was already well past midnight. The lights were on, however. Elle pulled into the small driveway, parking and hopping out of her car. Compared to the other vehicles there, it looked a tad beat up and ratty, but she found herself pushing down the feeling of embarrassment.

She was not rich. With a cop for a father and her mother returning to work only after her husband's retirement, there was really no way to be rich. She couldn't afford a car as nice as any of those. But, that didn't mean that she couldn't look. Elle went from one to the other, admiring the beasts. And, mighty fine beasts they were. If her brother had been there, he would've freaked out, without any restraint. She prided herself in having some.

Finally, Elle walked over to the house, a little nervous now, hands in her back pockets. She found the doorbell easily and rang it. Then, she wondered if she was a bit underdressed for the occasion. Her mind flew to the way she'd opened up her car window. Her hair, though still in a ponytail, was probably a bird's nest on her head. In a spur of mortification, Elle's hands flew up, fingers running through the ponytail in an attempt to untangle it a bit. Just as she was yanking out a particularly nasty knot, the door in front of her opened.

Yes, Elle was definitely underdressed. It was a tall woman on killer heels and impeccable make-up. She was wearing designer clothing, Elle could tell without even looking at the labels. The woman was taller than her, but Elle knew that if she'd had heels on, the difference wouldn't be as vast. The officer yanked her fingers out of her ponytail quickly, placing her hands behind her back awkwardly with a small smile.

"I'm officer Elle Hart, ma'am." She introduced herself. "Chief Ramirez gave me this address in order to meet with the vampire Sheriff?" Elle cursed herself inwardly for making it seem almost like a question. The woman in front of her took another couple of moments to stare at her, then, she moved to the side, slowly.

"If you'd follow me." Her voice held an accent and her tone was soft, polite. Almost like she was soothing a frightened animal. Elle stepped into the home, looking around for a brief moment. The house was a rental, a front, she immediately noted. The whole set up was directly from a magazine, none of it lived in. There were no personal touches and the pictures on the walls were those of generic families.

The young officer followed her host down the hall, to the right and then, up to a large door. Then, the impeccably dressed woman motioned forward, without a word being exchanged anywhere.

"He'll see you now." Elle found her heart thudding now. Scared? Was she scared? Not really, she wasn't that frightened. Nervous. Yes, she was definitely nervous.

"Ah, yes, er, thank you, ma'am." She smiled at the tall woman, fumbling through her nervousness. With a nod, the woman vanished, startling the officer a bit. Elle found herself staring at the large door. Then, she took a deep breath, pushed the end of her ponytail back and knocked.

"Come in." A man spoke from the other side. She pushed the door, but then quickly realized her mistake and pulled it instead. The room which she entered had obviously been built as a traditional study. Fully done in wood, with a large desk at the other side of the room, it was a tad imposing, reminding her of the Principal's office from high school.

At the large wooden desk at the other end of the room sat a rather tall man, bulky, with a glare fixed on her. Suddenly, Elle felt laughter bubbling up in her chest, but she squashed it down. Apparently, the vampire Sheriff was a fan of cowboy hats. She suddenly felt like she was in some sort of a western. Elle reminded herself that she was facing a vampire. He may as well had been a cowboy hat wearing sheriff back in the days of the wild west. She bit her lip and walked forward.

"I'm Elle Hart, sir." She introduced with a clear and firm tone. "The Chief sent me here for an interview." She thanked the Lord that her voice was still steady, despite the increasing feeling of awkwardness. Yes, she was underdressed. Her hair was messy. She hadn't put on a lick of make-up. She was also sweaty from standing in the heat all day and she could taste the garlic of her earlier burger on her tongue. Elle had botched it up before it had even begun, she realized.

"Officer Hart." Another voice addressed her, and she realized that he'd allowed her in earlier. Elle whipped about, finding a boy standing there. He was looking her up and down, before offering a small smile and gesturing to the seats in front of the desk. "Please, sit."

"Yes, sir." She walked over to the chairs, a bit uneasy that she couldn't keep both of them in her line of sight. But, if the cowboy hat was Sheriff, who was the boy? She'd heard stories about claimed humans and human companions, but that wasn't legal unless one was of age. Surely, the boy was too young to be a companion to the vampire Sheriff?

"I'm glad to finally meet you off-paper." The boy spoke again, sitting down in the chair on her side of the desk. Elle wasn't sure where to look now. At the boy? Or at the Sheriff? Surely, if the human companion was holding the interview she should look at him? But wouldn't that disrespect the Sheriff? Perhaps it was all a test… "My name is Godric and I'm the Sheriff in this area." Elle was pretty certain that her jaw dropped.

"B-but... B-bu-" She stammered, looking from one to the other. However, she managed to compose herself in a brief second. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." A ghost of a smile appeared on the young man's face. Elle suddenly didn't see him so much as a teenage donor, but as a handsome vampire trapped in the body of a young man. The way he had looked at her earlier made sense now. But, if he was the Sheriff, who was the cowboy hat wearing man at the desk?

"I've looked over your file and I've got a few questions before I make my final choice of liaison." Sheriff Godric had her full attention once more. "Your record is exemplary and I saw that you also possess a PI license?" The lilt in his voice had her head swimming, trying to figure out its origin. But, aside from the short movie of Detective Soto shooting herself in the head, the endearing accent which she couldn't identify coming from the vampire in front of her and the tiny things she was noticing about the man in front of her, Elle battled through the fog and answered his question.

"Yes, I obtained my license after volunteering at my father's PI office." She pushed the gunshot back. "Once I was old enough, I passed my exam." She pushed the numerous videos about accents back into her mind. "But, in the end I decided to also apply to the Dallas Police Academy." She looked away from the tattoo peeking out from Sheriff Godric's shirt and made herself focus less on its origin and significance and more on his face and what he was saying.

"I see." There was a small quirk of his lips to the side as he spoke, as if amused. "Then…"

* * *

"I liked the last one the best, Sheriff." Commented Stan after he was done compiling the interview questions from all of the police officers. Godric stood still, looking at the four faces which were staring up at him from the desk. His eyes lingered on each of them, recalling their conversations.

"The second one is the best qualified, Sheriff." Isobel commented. Godric moved his hands, pushing two pictures towards Isobel.

"I will take these two." The Ancient said. "To coordinate with each other, one from our office and one from theirs." A blonde woman with a ponytail and an eager smile looked up at Isobel from one picture. On the other, there was a young man with a tan, freckled face and messy blond curls. He had a lazy smirk on his face.

"Those two were the worst, sir!" Stan complained. "At least reconsider the woman, Sheriff. She came in here stinking like the worst of bloodbags. Her presence as a liaison would be offensive!" Godric looked up at his third in command calmly.

"We asked them to come after eight hours of work. I found her much more honest in her innocent ignorance to our ways and abilities than the last one who had obviously had prior knowledge as to how a human should behave in a vampire's presence." Godric looked at the grinning blonde in the picture. "We don't need someone who is already meek and subdued in the vampire world, underling. We need a liaison who will break out of the comfort zone of the two worlds in order to connect them. The last one cannot do that. But those two could, as they are still a tabula rasa, both of them."

"I don't suppose that you will be in charge of their education, Sheriff?" Stan offered a toothy smile full of sarcasm. Godric paused, glancing back at the pictures.

"I suppose that I will."

* * *

Godric sat down at his desk that morning, finally finished with all the affairs for the night. While the position of Sheriff wasn't too taxing all on its own, but it was really his age and reputation which brought in the extra work. He was an Ancient, after all, with a large body count to his name and a well-known reputation for his protective ways over his own. Hence, a number of vampires were eager to live in his area, if only for the protection of an Ancient.

Godric opened his laptop, focusing on it. He then clicked on his email application and opened it. He created a new letter, preparing to let the Chief of DPD know what he'd decided. It was a short note, with only the necessary information in it. Godric felt a tad strange, only typing out his name on the bottom, where he would usually write it in cursive. He missed the wax seals with the faces of crests pressed into them. Electronic mail simply held no feeling, he figured. Then again, nothing much held feeling for him anymore.

Clicking send, the Sheriff stood away from his desk and headed to the living room of his nest. They had rented out a secondary location for their interviews with the human police. He wasn't ready to let them into his nest quite yet. And, he would probably keep the location for a while longer. It was a comfortable home, as far as he could gauge, and it had all the modern commodities. It would serve its purpose, Godric mused.

He stood in front of the UV glass of his windows, looking to the horizon. Despite the dark sky, he could make out the first rays of the sun peeking over the edge of the world. They were making the clouds slowly change color, from dark navy to a lighter blue. He followed the rays lazily with his eyes and allowed his mind to drift.

Godric knew that introducing the young police officers to the ways of the vampire world would take time and effort on his part. He would need to shuffle around his schedule and arrange for Isobel and Stan to take on a bit more than usual. But, Godric knew that he would need to take care of all maker requests, as well as welcome new vampires to the area on a daily basis.

The humans – no, miss Hart and mister Dean – they would need to learn the basic faux pas which they could commit unknowingly. Also, they would likely have to be claimed by a vampire in the nest. A powerful vampire partner to keep the human officers safe. Godric didn't like the idea too much. Perhaps he could figure out a way to keep them safe without them being claimed. He would have to sleep on it. He would definitely need to sleep on it.

As the first rays of sunlight spilled over the horizon, Godric turned his back to the sun and headed towards his daily resting place.

* * *

Someone was shaking her. She turned around and buried her head into her pillow. Then, the pillow went away and her forehead slammed against the headboard.

"Ouch." Elle groaned, pushing herself up.

"Your phone is ringing, dumbass." Dave's voice came in a tired, disgruntled tone which told her that he hadn't made coffee yet. And, if he hadn't made coffee, he definitely hadn't made breakfast. Elle made a weird sound in the back of her throat, in between a groan and a moan, as she stretched to grab her ringing cell and her back popped, relieving some of the pressure from yesterday.

"What the Hell?" She blearily looked at the caller ID and then instantly woke up. "Officer Hart!" She picked up.

"Hey, Hart, sorry to wake you." Detective Yun's voice came from the phone. "We're a little tight on the bodies available for Soto's cases. Could you come in early?"

"Of course, sir!" Elle stumbled off of her bed and then omphed when her legs got tangled in her sheets making her fall.

"Are you alright Hart?" Yun was smiling that smirking grin of his, she knew by the tone. Only one side of his lips would go up, on the side where he had a dimple, too.

"Of course, sir. I'll be in in 30." Elle managed to untangle herself and hop to her feet. She began searching for clean clothes to wear. "Where do you need me at?"

"I'm texting you the address right now. Fair warning, it's a murder-suicide." Elle stopped for a moment in her search around the room. "Hart? Should I assign it to someone else?"

"No, I'll be there in 30." Her voice was steady and she was completely awake now.

"Alright, Hart." And the line cut off. Elle stood still for a second, looking at the phone. It beeped, signaling that she'd gotten the address. She checked it out. Sure enough, she could be there if she drove just under the speed limit. Throwing her phone onto her bed, Elle stripped and ran into the shower.

* * *

It was a grizzly scene. Elle walked up to the house, a nice suburban feel to it, with a meticulous yard, shielding her eyes from the hot Dallas sun. Yes, it was going to be another one of  _those_ days. Despite taking a shower that morning, really around ten, she could already smell the sweat on her skin.

"You're the newbie they picked?" Detective Harris stood by the door of the home, giving her an obvious stink eye. He was wearing a clean, pressed shirt and his hair was as meticulously slicked back as always. If Elle hadn't seen him fall apart just yesterday on the staircase of his former partner's building, she would've believed it a lie.

"Elle Hart, sir." She greeted him and offered one of the coffees from her carton to him. Harris took it. That was a good sign, she supposed. "I'll do my best to be of use to you."

"Sure, sure." Harris waved her off. "Come." He turned to enter the home where SOCOs were already buzzing about. "And put those on." He threw over his shoulder, pointing at the white baggies by the door. Elle took a second to realize that she was supposed to put them over her shoes, but then she rushed after the man, pulling on a pair of white disposable gloves, too.

The inside of the house seemed like from a magazine. Or, perhaps one of the happy Hallmark movies. There was a wide living room, with a lush carpet and a comfortable looking sofa in front of the large TV. The fireplace was located right under it, perfectly in place. The floors, where she could spot them, were hardwood, and all the furniture was done beautifully in the same kind of wood. Truly, it was a modern house which was every family's dream. So, what had gone wrong?

"Detective Yun said that it was a murder-suicide?" Elle asked when Harris remained silent. He gave a sigh, turning around.

"There was no point of entry or any sign of break in." The Detective gestured to the door. "The wife and the husband were upstairs." Harris waved her to follow him. He took her up the spiral staircase and to the second floor of the home. This part looked a little different from the ground level. The walls were a pale blue and the carpet seemed much softer under Elle's feet. She saw numerous pictures of a smiling couple, a blonde woman and a dark-haired man. "They were getting ready for bed." Harris explained, pushing one of the white doors open with his sleeved elbow. "And bam. He kills her, jumps out the window."

The serenity which the house seemed to ooze stopped in this room. Elle walked in to see a scene from some kind of a horror move. There was blood everywhere. The smell of a fresh corpse hung in the air as she looked at the wife's body, lying on the king sized bed in an odd angle. She was white as a sheet, her eyes blank as they stared ahead. Smears of red went all over the bed, the white linens, streaks up the wall where they'd sprouted up and even drops on the plush blue carpet.

Elle felt her coffee and Dave's breakfast jump up into her throat. She pushed it down. The woman deserved more respect.

"What was the murder weapon?" Elle asked instead, forcing her mind to focus less on the smell and more on the case at hand.

"Vanderwalt hasn't arrived yet." Harris shrugged, sipping his coffee. "So, who the heck knows."

"Why do you think that it's a murder-suicide then?" Elle turned around, her back to the blank eyes of the dead woman. Somehow, she felt exposed.

"Hart, you said your name was?" The Detective's voice wasn't airy anymore. Elle nodded. "Why don't you shut up and nod like a good girl, ok?" He left the room, going downstairs, without waiting for her reply. Elle stood for a second longer, frozen, and then turned around. It was a boy's club, alright.

She reached into her pocket, taking out her headphones and plugged them into her phone. She hadn't really expected Harris to be of any help. But, he had given Elle what she needed – time and space alone with the scene. She put her music on shuffle and with a comfortable and familiar sound, the young police officer examined the scene once more.

She walked from the door, to the bed, measuring. Then, Elle checked out how far it was to the window. True enough, she could see the husband's body splattered on the ground. Next, Elle examined the collection of books, clothes, movies and everything else available. She even went into the adjoining bathroom, checking it out. In her head, she was piecing together a picture of these people's lives and how abruptly they'd ended.

Elle was just finishing her fishing expedition in the wardrobe on the husband's side, when a hand on her shoulder made her jump. She whirled around, seeing the familiar face of Mary Vanderwalt, their ME. She was a short woman, at Elle's eye level even with her heels on. Her hair was dark and pulled up into a semi-professional bun at all times. She usually wore dark suits with pencil skirt bottoms, unusual for the Dallas area. It was something she had left from her years as a Chicago ME. But, her eyes, electric blue and large, were always kind. Elle quickly took out her headphones.

"I tried calling out to you, but you were on a different plane." Commented the coroner with a kind smile. "Got everything you needed?"

"Ah, yes. Sorry, ma'am." Elle replied, her eyes darting to the doorway to see if Harris had arrived with the ME. He wasn't there. "I'm done here. I was careful not to touch anything which could affect the body." Vanderwalt gave her a small nod and walked over to the wife's corpse. Elle took that as a sign that she was free to leave and she headed out the door.

She slowly walked by the pictures in the hallway, looking at each and every one carefully. In the back of her mind, she collected information and connected one piece of the puzzle to the other. They went to Paris for their honeymoon. He got her a dress there. She wore that dress when they celebrated their anniversary. They had a number of pictures with their extended family. All extended family had children. They didn't have any of their own, however.

Elle followed the hallway all the way up to another door. It didn't seem to have been opened yet. Perhaps the SOCOs had just glimpsed inside and figured that it wasn't part of the crime scene. She opened the door with her gloved hands and turned the light on. It seemed like a guest room. Empty, organized with impeccable taste in pale blues and dark wood. Elle walked over to the wardrobe, looking inside. Empty. She then opened the nightstands. Empty, as well. Finally, she glanced under the bed. There was a bag there.

She pulled it out, unzipping it. After looking through the contents she stood, leaving the bag there. Elle walked out to the hallway, following it to the master bedroom once more. This time, the room was buzzing with SOCOs. Vanderwalt and Harris were there, too. When Elle appeared in the doorway, Mary looked up a her and the Detective raised his eyebrow, annoyed.

"Where's the child?" Elle asked.

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**That's all folks!  
Things are finally getting heated with all of this crime, and we got to see Godric and Elle meet. He seemed amused with her ignorance, don't you think? I hope you enjoyed!**

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**Still looking for a beta, if anyone's interested :D**

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**My thanks goes out to everyone who's given this story kudos!**


	4. Just Dance

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 4: Just Dance**

Elle dropped into the driver's seat of her car, exhausted. She undid her ponytail so that she could lean her head against the headrest comfortably. For a second, she shut her eyes, took a deep breath and everything went away. The madness of her morning turning, from a simple murder-suicide, to an amber alert. Apparently, the Millers were a foster family and they had just filed to adopt the young boy who had been staying with them.

Kieran O'Callaghan, soon to be Kieran Miller.

Harris had managed to get a picture of the boy from his social worker. It was a young kid, less than ten, with a bright, toothy smile and wild red locks flying in every direction. He was eagerly showing the camera his plastic toy dinosaur. Elle just couldn't get the freckles and the smile and the childish glee out of her head. It had meshed together with the video of Detective Soto committing suicide, the Miller's grizzly crime scene and the thought of the vampire Sheriff's interview.

"Hey there, miss Elle. Penny for your thoughts?" Elle opened her eyes to see officer Dean standing outside her window. He had blocked the setting sun, which meant that she didn't have to squint much in order to make out his face.

"Stressful day." She sighed.

"I bet." The officer gave her a sympathetic look and offered one of the coffee cups in his hand. "Delectable beverage of life energy?" He offered with a goofy smile. Elle squinted up at him for a moment longer. She didn't trust him, for some reason. Then again, perhaps it was simply the fact that they were in direct competition for a job. It couldn't hurt to take the coffee, though, she needed it.

"Thanks." Elle accepted. Surprisingly, it was a sweet mix, just how she liked it.

"I may have asked Tasha about your preferences, coffee-wise." Officer Dean chatted with a grin. "I assure you that she was quite reluctant to surrender the information, though." Elle snorted. Then, they both laughed. Tasha, as good as she was as an intern, was the worst when it came to gossip. She talked a mile and hour and could make you go deaf if you just nodded. She needed no dialogue, monologues were her comfort zone.

"Oh, heavens." Laughed Elle, finally calming down. Her cheeks and stomach hurt from the laugh, which, she had to admit, she'd needed quite a bit. "I'll give you a ride home?" Elle found herself offering, gesturing to the passenger's seat.

"What kind of a fool would I be to refuse a lady's request to give me shotgun?" Officer Dean laughed, walking to the other side of the car. The ratty old thing dipped when he slid in. He threw his duffle bag at his feet and slammed the door shut. "Yeeha." He gave Elle a smirk and a wink.

"Where to?" She was smiling as she started the car, buckling her seatbelt, and rolled out of her parking spot.

"Oh, I live in Greenland Hills, Morningside Ave." Officer Dean told her rather flippantly, considering what kind of a neighborhood that was. Elle knew that she wouldn't be able to afford a coffee at one of the local shops without selling everything she owned. "Ever been in the neighborhood? There's this little eatery, just two corners from my home, a true ray of sunshine on a cloudy day." He paused, taking out his cellphone at the telltale notification sound. "Jesus Christ." Officer Dean uttered under his breath.

"What?" Elle had stopped at a red light, so she peered over to the small screen of her colleague's phone. "Everything alright? Did they get a lead on the Miller kid?"

"Oh, no miss Elle, sorry for giving false hope." Officer Dean got a sad look on his face for a moment. The light changed before Elle could dig anything else from the expression, though. She drove on towards the Hills. "But, it seems that I've got a change of destination. Could you take me Uptown, instead? To the vampire Sheriff's estate?"

"No trouble." Elle bit the inside of her cheek, but forced her face to remain in a soft smile. It would do her no good to show officer Dean that she'd wanted the job. Well, perhaps it would get her some more mocking at the station. She wouldn't be just an incompetent, crazy man's daughter but also a fangbanging sympathizer. Elle turned the car around, heading towards Uptown.

"Wait, you didn't get an email?" Her passenger asked. Elle truly believed that he wasn't trying to rub salt into her wound.

"No, not yet." She replied. "Can't really imagine vampires emailing. Especially the Sheriff. From what I understood, he's a pretty old vamp." The young woman laughed, but even to her it sounded fake.

"I know Sonya got an email this afternoon with a rejection." Officer Dean commented after taking a sip of his coffee. "She was in the training room the rest of the day beating up anything and everything. She honestly makes me a bit scared to go for a work out there, God's honest truth."

"Mmm." Elle hummed, but didn't reply. She allowed the other officer to keep up the conversation instead. He talked about his superior officer, his current assignments and even his family, all the way to the vampire estate. It wasn't until Elle stopped the car and put it into park that he finally gave a sigh and then turned to her.

"Thank you for the ride, miss Elle." Officer Dean smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow." And he was out of the door before she could reply anything. Elle sat there for a moment, looking at the house they'd had their interviews at. It was a rather big one, modern-built, with tall windows and plenty of flower decorating the outside. It seemed well-kept and rather expensive.

Another thing she couldn't afford.

With a sigh, Elle lowered her forehead to the wheel, scrunching up her eyes and gritting her teeth.

"Dammit." She whispered, only for her ears. It wasn't that she'd wanted a job working with vampires. Far from that. Elle wanted to be recognized for her skills. After years of looking at her father's cases, then working at his PI office and now finally joining the DPD, she just wanted someone to see how good she was. It was pathetic, and she knew it, but Elle was human. And, humans lived for praise, after all.

"Miss Hart?" That was a familiarly accented voice. Elle's head shot up and she accidentally banged her forehead against the steering wheel, honking the horn.

"Oh Jesus." Elle gasped when the vampire next to the car flinched at the loud noise. "I'm so sorry, ma'am." The lady, Elle couldn't place her name, simply offered a tight smile.

"Will you be joining us inside?" She asked. It was only then that Elle saw the two paper shopping bags in the woman's hands.

"I don't think I'm supposed to, ma'am." Elle replied, looking back down. The vampire inspected her slowly.

"Hasn't the Sheriff emailed you?" She asked. "I was under the impression he'd mastered Google email by now." Her tone had a humorous note, which made Elle imagine the vampire Sheriff frowning at his laptop with Gmail opened up. She let out a small laugh, which she quickly turned into a cough. "You have been accepted as a liaison for the Sheriff's office." When Elle looked back up at the woman, she had a faint smile on her face. "Why don't you come inside with me?" And the vampire left, expensive heels clicking on the pavement.

Elle scrambled out of her car, heart soaring at the fact that she had, in fact, gotten the job. She couldn't stop the grin which grew on her face to, quite probably, ridiculous proportions. Grabbing her cellphone and keys, she slammed the door of her car and jogged to catch up with the woman in front of her.

The inside of the estate was the same as she remembered. Straight from the magazine. Nothing seemed lived-in. Elle followed the woman to the kitchen, where the vampire proceeded to put food into the fridge. Just as the officer started looking about, she beckoned Elle over with a wave of her hand. They left the kitchen and headed towards a familiar office door. They were heading to see the Sheriff. The vampire didn't knock, but simply entered and Elle followed.

This time, the Sheriff was actually siting at his desk. Well, on his desk. Elle felt her eyebrows go up at the way the ancient vampire was seated. Like this, in a T-shirt and cotton pants, she almost mistook him for a teenage boy once more. However, she wouldn't make that mistake again. After their interview, she had realized that the Sheriff was anything but a boy. The way he spoke, the time he would take to think and the well-placed words in the questions he had asked her told her everything she needed to know. This was a vampire who had been through thick and thin and he would take no nonsense from anyone. Elle hadn't been able to resist Googling a bit about him, though there hadn't been much information online.

"Sheriff, miss Hart will be joining us." Elle had almost forgotten that the female vampire was standing next to her in her examination of the ancient teenager in front of her. The Sheriff briefly looked up, before returning his gaze to the folder in his hands.

"I was under the impression that you had an important case, miss Hart." The accent bugged her. She knew it. She knew that she knew it and it bugged her. Scandinavia? Yeah, maybe it was Scandinavia. Elle bit her lip. "Chief Martinez promised to loan you to me as soon as you find the culprit of the murder-suicide." This time, when the Sheriff looked up, he fixed her with his gaze. Elle knew that look. It was the look she had in her eyes when she was taking in details and filing them away into her mental safe, to piece together into a puzzle later.

"I-I didn't even know I'd been transferred to your service, sir." She replied. The vampire Sheriff frowned.

"You didn't get my email?"

"No, sir."

"Odd." He picked up his laptop from the desk, and began fiddling with the keyboard. Elle chanced a look at the man sitting in front of the Sheriff's desk, officer Dean, who gave her a bright smile and eager wave.

"As not to waste time, you should look over the files, miss Hart, while the Sheriff finds his email." The female vampire spoke, startling Elle once more. Perhaps the Sheriff was right and she was a bit too tired.

"Yes, ma'am." Elle walked over to the desk and she accepted the folder from officer Dean. It was a thick one, and when she opened it it was clear why. There were dozens of pictures, summaries, people's ID cards and other information printed out and marked in neat handwriting. It was a little small for her taste, but she could read the cursive letters.

"Here it is." The vampire Sheriff spoke before Elle could begin reading the first page thoroughly. "Why didn't it arrive? Would you come here, miss Hart?" His tone wasn't menacing or bossy. The vampire Sheriff sounded vexed by the whole situation. Elle walked over, leaning to get a good look at the screen.

"Sir, that isn't my email address." She finally told him.

"Oh." The vampire Sheriff's eyebrows furrowed as he attempted to edit the email right there, in that window. After a few moments, he seemed to give up. "How do you change it? I want the right email to appear when I type your name? That can be done, correct?" The vampire turned to her and Elle took in a deep breath, fully aware that the corner of her mouth was tilting up at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

"Correct, sir." She managed, her voice jumping up a few octaves. "If you'd let me?" Officer Dean was shaking as he read a few papers, mouth in a thin line.

"Please." The Sheriff suddenly scooted over, giving Elle some room on the desk. She found herself sliding onto the free space and taking the laptop into her lap. She quickly found the contacts, her last name and then edited the right email address into it.

"Here you go, sir." The Sheriff's cool hands brushed against hers as he took the computer back. He proceeded to battle with the keyboard for a few moments and then Elle's phone dinged in her back pocket with the telltale sound of a new email.

"There." The ancient teenager looked up, pride at his accomplishment on his face. "Officially you've been notified of your new position, duties and working time." He offered her a small tilt of his lips, before looking away. "Since we have a lot of work for tonight, I will be brief." Elle blinked twice, finally free of the small smile and grey eyes which had short-circuited her brain. "My name is Godric. Not sir, not Sheriff, Godric and I like to be addressed as such. This is my colleague Isobel, with whom you will mostly be dealing other than me. Beside us, you've met Stan during the interviews and he is a possible replacement in case anything urgent comes across our desks. Otherwise, we will be your partners in the liaison office of human-vampire affairs." He spoke rather slowly, in a mellow tone, as if he were afraid to spook the two humans. But, the only thing which the short monologue did was lull Elle into a comfortable state, almost close to sleep.

"We've given you a folder which contains all the possible information you could need for the first case we will be coordinating to solve." The Sheriff spoke again. "There has been a string of suspicious suicides, both human and vampire alike, which have been brought to our attention. We would like you to investigate it with us. Get as much information as possible, as there has been no evidence so far at the scene."

Then, he paused, looking from Isobel to the two humans. Elle awkwardly put her hand up from her seat on the Sheriff's desk, almost like raising it for a question in school. The ancient teenager's left brow made a questioning arch upwards.

"How do we know that these aren't actually suicides?" Her voice seemed sharp in comparison to the Sheriff's soft tone. He gave a small nod.

"We can't." The vampire answered, looking down at his hands for a brief second. "This is why that file is so thick. It includes every incident which registered for the search parameters." Elle's eyes widened. "It is our job to narrow down the possibilities and see if there is actually a crime being committed here."

* * *

"You are free to eat anything from the kitchen, as well as use the utensils provided." Isobel explained, leading the two officers through the house. "No outside food or drink is allowed to be brought in." Officer Dean and Elle exchanged pained looks, as neither had seen a coffee machine inside the home. "Finally, this property will be available to you even during the day." Isobel stopped in front of the glass doors which lead to the garden behind the house. "Feel free to treat it as a secondary police station. However, make sure to keep your belongings tidy." The vampire turned and headed back towards the living room.

Elle followed, absent-mindedly looking around. Officer Dean was hot on Isobel's heels. After a lengthy briefing on the three suicides which had shown the vampire Sheriff a pattern, he had dismissed them for a break. Elle had seen at least a dozen notifications appear on his phone, which had lain forgotten behind his back on the table. Which reminded her.

She took out her own cell, lighting up the screen to check notifications. No word yet. So, they hadn't found the Miller kid. Elle felt her throat painfully constrict. She wished that she could do more in order to help the search. But, instead, she was stuck sightseeing a vampire mansion.

Hands on her shoulders stopped Elle from bumping into someone. She looked up from her phone screen to see the vampire Sheriff. He looked from the cell to her face.

"Is there any news on your current case?" He asked her quite conversationally in her opinion. Reluctantly, Elle obliged.

"Not yet." She pushed a strand of hair which had escaped her ponytail behind her ear, unaware of the way the vampire's eyes followed the motion. "I just wish I could help them more." The Sheriff turned towards the living room, offering the young woman his elbow, as in the old times. Elle realized what he wanted and looped her arm through his, joining the pace he'd set for them as they moved through the silent house.

"Tell me about the case, miss Hart." There was no room to deny the request.

"At first glance, it seemed as if the husband had killed his wife and then himself. However, after we discovered that they were planning to adopt a young boy, we went back to the drawing board." She sighed slowly. "It just doesn't make sense. Why would he kill his wife and then himself, when they were trying to start a family together?" She asked. "And, most importantly, where is the boy?"

"Indeed." The Sheriff agreed. Elle almost gasped, as she'd nearly forgotten that he was there. It had been one of those moments, when she allowed her mind to wonder over endless possibilities and spoke some of the crucial questions out loud. "If there's anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask, miss Hart." That statement startled her. The vampire Sheriff had just volunteered his help. But, what did that even entail? As far as she knew, all he could do was control vampires in his area through law. Though, why was he offering his help?

"Thank you, sir." Elle replied regardless, already filing away the offer as one she would never take him up on.

"You're welcome." Now, they were in front of the office once more. Just how many circles around the home had they done while Elle was thinking in silence or rambling? He must think her crazy. "Now, let your colleagues do their work on the Miller case and you focus on my case…" Elle looked to the side to see those grey eyes fixing her with their stare. "Shall we?"

* * *

David Hart woke up to the sound of Lady Gaga's hits blasting full force. He groaned, turned towards the wall and pressed his forehead against the cool surface. It was vibrating in the beat of the bass. By the warm weight on his feet, he could tell that Snuffles had decided to hide away in his bed from his crazy mistress. Poor dog.

"I'm going to strangle her." He hissed and rolled the other way from the vibrating wall, pushing himself up and off of his bed. The young man didn't bother taming his messy hair or pulling anything else on. Clad in his boxers he stomped through the shared flat and pushed the door to Elle's room open.

He stopped, shocked. Blinked a few times to force himself awake and then proceeded to stare. Elle was on her bed in her pajama shorts and shirt with spaghetti straps, doing some form of a strange wiggle dance to the loud music and yelling out the lyrics. But, that was a normal picture in his home. It was the redecoration of the room which had him gawking.

On the wall which was opposite of Elle's bed, where she usually hung her pictures, there were print outs and photos from some sorts of crime scenes. He could see brains, blood and mangles limbs depending on where he looked. There were also blank sheets of paper here and there, which had lines in Elle's block letters showing her notes. He didn't doubt that they were coded, as always.

But, that wasn't all. On the wall opposite to that one, where the headboard of Elle's bed was, there were more pictures. These were of a different kind, though. They showed only two people. The woman mangled on her bed and the man splattered on the sidewalk. He flinched at the gruesome images. Underneath them was a paper with notes, again, followed by an image of a young, smiling kid.

"Sweet Jesus." Gasped David as Just Dance started playing and Elle began jumping like a grasshopper on serious drugs all over the place. "Elle." He called out. "Elle!" There was still no reply as the young woman was only shouting the lyrics of the song. "Mildred!" Elle fell off of her bed. For a few moments, only the bass and Lady Gaga's voice could be heard. David slammed the button on the stereo and turned it off. Then, the blonde head peeked out from the other side of her bed.

"Dave?" She panted. "Did I wake you?" Elle pushed her hair back from her face with both hands, trying to catch her breath desperately.

"Noooo." He sarcastically commented. "I think you woke the vampire two blocks over from his dayrest." He looked around her room once more as she picked herself up off the floor and hopped onto the bed. "Get this shit off your walls before Amy comes over. I don't want her thinking that my sister is a crazy psycho."

As Dave walked out of the room, he could practically hear his sister pouting. Absent-mindedly, he meandered over to the kitchenette and began humming Just Dance.

* * *

"Here you go." Officer Dean slumped into the chair in front of Elle's desk, one coffee cup on the table and the other in his hand. She eyed it. "I figure it would be a good idea to get a cup before we go and obey our new dietary laws and regulations?" He winked.

"Thanks." Elle nodded, taking the coffee. "How much do I owe you?" But the blond man waved her off.

"Nothing." Officer Dean smiled. "Did you find the kid?" His tone changed this time, going from the usual airy one, with a flippant manner, to a focused, harder one. Elle had seen this look on his before. It had been last night, when the two of them had been left to their own devices with the huge file of possible victims. She had finally caught the glimpse of the man who had earned the job of a liaison to the vampire Sheriff. Elle realized then that they would either work perfectly well together or kill each other on the job.

"Not yet." She sighed, lowering her cup. Her head was starting to pound from the lack of sleep. "I wish there was more I could do. I re-interviewed Kieran's former host parents. I talked to his school counselor. I even went to the group home where he'd stayed and tried to pry some information out of those kids." She pushed the loose hair from her forehead up with both hands, slicking it into her ponytail. "Dead ends, all of them."

"That sucks." Officer Dean said and Elle looked up at him. He was staring at his cup with a pensive look on his face. "Wish that I could give you some insight into the kid's train of thought." He looked up at her, pointing at his head. "Plenty of those FBI seminars did me good when serial killers are concerned. As for them foster kids, I'm afraid that I'm a dead end for you." He shrugged. "Their little minds are warped, if you ask me." And, he kept talking, but it all faded into a background buzz.

Suddenly, Elle's head was filled with Lady Gaga's Just Dance and she hopped out of her seat, coffee forgotten.

"I didn't mean to offend, miss Elle, or anything like-" Officer Dean's voice rang out over the lyrics. Elle grabbed her wallet, stuffed it along with her cellphone in the back pocket of her pants and headed towards the exit. "Miss Elle, where are you going?" Her colleague yelled across the bullpen.

"To by a map of Dallas! One of those touristy ones!" She shot back, humming Just Dance as she pressed the button of the elevator repeatedly, eager to see if her idea would work.

**That's all folks!**

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**I hope that you guys enjoyed and that Godric wasn't too OOC. I try my best with him, but sometimes, I'm at a total loss hahahaha**

**If anyone's wondering how I imagine Elle Hart, it would be like a young Alison Lohman, maybe how she looked in White Oleander?**

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**My thanks to the two guests for their kudos and especially to Anon, for the lovely comment!**

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**Thank you for all the feedback and I'll be looking forward to hearing from you guys again!**


	5. Occam's razor

**I never expected this story to be so well-received. Thank you everyone for your kind support :)**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 5: Occam's razor**

Godric was surprised when he walked into the rented property that evening.

It had been three days since they'd started working with the humans and he felt that it had been going rather well. Then again, they had been solely operating in house on sifting through the evidence and creating possible timelines and workloads. The male policeman, officer Dean, had managed to semi-relax with both Godric and Isobel around. He'd started expressing his opinions openly, without fear of reprimand or stepping on some kind of an authority line. And, the Ancient vampire had been pleased with that. By employing humans who had none of the vampire norms beaten into them through horrific experiences he hoped to create a bond to last. He hoped to create a different kind of community. But, Godric was no fool. His long years on earth had taught him that sooner or later, a vampire would give into their nature and destroy the fragile balance he'd managed to create.

But, this wasn't why he'd been surprised upon entering the property.

The lights were on in the kitchen, which he could see even from the driveway. And, he could hear the faint sounds of a telltale modern beat being played. Someone was blasting music inside. With a frown, Godric had figured that it was the kids from the neighborhood who had snuck into a vampire property for a party. After all, it wasn't an unusual occurrence. He'd soundlessly entered at human speed, seeking out the source of the noise. Godric headed for the kitchen, a little bit of cautiousness burning in the back of his mind.

That was where stopped in the doorway, eyebrow rising and a small smile appearing on his face.

It appeared that their other human liaison had learned to relax in her new surroundings, as well. Officer Hart was still in her police uniform, hair up in a ponytail which he doubted she knew tempted every vampire in the vicinity, and she had earphones in. There was some kind of a catchy tune playing from them, which he couldn't place really, as he didn't make a habit out of following the music scene. He'd stopped somewhere in the late 80s, when the rock and roll had gotten a bit too loud for him. The young woman was dancing in the kitchen, eating something which he was quite certain Isobel hadn't placed in the fridge by the smell of it. Yes, Godric was certain that it had garlic in it.

But, that wasn't the only surprising thing.

The young police officer had apparently decided to redecorate the rented kitchen. There were photos, reports, notes and various other crime scene documents everywhere. She'd organized them in a pattern, he could tell, but he wasn't sure with which logic. They all had colorful sticky notes with block letters on them, as well. Officer Hart had been busy, he could tell.

Godric watched the young woman from the doorway, not yet ready to disturb the scene. After all, as soon as he entered she would return to the meek and submissive policewoman he'd come to know. And, he found himself preferring this, hip swaying and hair shaking, free young lady in his kitchen over the officer.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. After a turn, officer Hart stopped mid-mumble through her food, one hand raised and hip cocked to the side with the beat. Her eyes were wide and blood rushed to her cheeks. Godric could hear her heart speed up to an unhealthy rhythm. She slowly closed her eyes and then opened them again, at least, for him it seemed like slow motion. Then, officer Hart fumbled, hid her food behind her back in a childish fashion and ripped the earphones out of her ears with her other hand.

"Sheriff, sir, I-" She took a breath and then tried again. "My apologies, sir." Godric's lip rose even further into a smile now. She was so human, he settled on. So very human and not a bit afraid of what he was and it was so refreshing. She was simply mortified because he'd caught her being human in his kitchen.

"I see that you've picked out a new wallpaper for our kitchen." He remarked conversationally, walking over to the counter in the middle of the room. There was a large map in the center of it and multiple cups of coffee around it. The vampire easily pushed himself up, letting his legs dangle off the counter as he took in the pictures taped all around the kitchen.

"I'll take them down right away, sir." The young woman left her food on the counter, in its plastic wrapping, careful that it didn't spill and rushed to the closest cabinet ready to take down her work.

"Miss Hart." Godric called out as her hand flew up to the pictures. "Please, join me." The officer turned, still a bit flushed. She glanced at the images on the cupboards, but then decided against it and headed towards the vampire. She jumped up on the counter and settled next to him.

For a few moments, they sat in silence. Godric looked at the images on the walls and cupboards, taking in their placement. But, the thing he was really focused on was the woman next to him. She looked young. She looked younger than what her file said. And, this was coming from the vampire whose judge of human age had blurred through centuries. But, he could tell that she looked almost like a teenager. And, her blood pumped that way, too. Despite the modern food he could clearly smell on her which she consumed in large amounts, her blood smelled good. He was almost tempted by the quick beat in her neck, so foolishly exposed by her ponytail.

"Feel free to finish your food, miss Hart." Reluctantly, the young woman turned and took her burger from the counter. Godric couldn't resist taking a deep, unnecessary for his undead body, breath when she moved. Through the scent of fried chicken, garlic, lettuce and many other ingredients he caught something else. The sweat which clung to her skin because of her daytime work. The faint smell of the conditioner with aloe which flew out of her ponytail when it swished about. The tang of the gun residue on her hands from her practice at the shooting range. And, most importantly, the mixture of elderberry flowers and the telltale spicy scent of 0 negative. Godric felt the familiar push from his gums as his fangs attempted to descend. He forced them back, sliding his tongue over his teeth for a final check.

"You've sorted them by connections?" The vampire asked finally, certain that he had himself under complete control.

"Yesh." The young woman answered through her food. She quickly swallowed. "Age, race, gender, neighborhood and daily routine. But, I haven't been able to find a single common denominator yet." She looked at her food, seemingly miffed.

"The answer to a riddle is usually staring you in the face in an obvious manner." Godric whispered, looking from one cluster of photos to the other.

"Occam's razor." The officer answered to his sentence.

"Occam's razor indeed." Agreed the vampire. They sat in silence, faint pop music still coming from the earphones. Godric wondered if she'd forgotten all about the music.

"You won't tell miss Isobel about the food, will you, sir?" Officer Hart reluctantly asked after she was finished with her burger. Godric hadn't had much experience with children over the years, at least not in conversation, but she reminded him of a child at that moment.

"What food?" He didn't have the heart to tell her that Isobel would smell both the garlic and the numerous cups of coffee without him saying a word about it. After all, the bright smile officer Hart gave him was worth the small fib.

* * *

Elle looked at the address on her phone, checking the GPS signal which told her where she was. She turned the corner and parked the car in front of the house. There was a telltale whoosh sound from the passenger seat and she knew that her partner for the night, Isobel, was gone from her seat. Elle got out of the car and jogged to catch up to the vampire who was already at the door. Isobel knocked and they both waited for a few moments. Then, the door opened, a seemingly young woman standing there. Elle had learned not to trust appearances, however, especially where vampires were concerned.

The vampire in front of them was slight, blonde and quite a catch if anyone asked Elle. Purely objectively, though. Her hair was short, in one of the new hairstyles from the runway and she was wearing the latest fashion. This was a woman who cared for her appearance.

"Isobel, a pleasure to see you at my door." The vampire spoke, her tone alluring. Elle swore that if she were gay, this would've been her preferred type. "Let me get you an invitation, alright?" And she vanished from the doorway. Soon enough, a young man came to the door, eyes glazed over and he offered them both a small smile.

"Please, would you come in?" He was dressed in casual clothing, but Elle didn't need to look far to see the familiar puncture marks of a vampire's feed. They peeked from under his shirt collar at his neck, one on the underarm when he raised it to close the door behind him and he walked a little funny, telling the officer that there was something wrong with his left leg. Elle looked up to Isobel, but the vampire didn't return the favor. Instead, she walked into the living room like she owned it.

"Please, Isobel, take a seat." The blonde vampire was back, sashaying past the young man who'd let them in. She plopped down onto her couch in a very human manner, while Isobel elegantly lowered herself into her chair. "Would you like a snack? I'm afraid I've only got AB+, though."

"Thank you for your generosity, Mila, but not tonight." Isobel looked quite at home in the eerie, almost menacing atmosphere of the house. "We've got a few questions for you regarding the death of your progeny, if you're up to answering them?" The blonde vampire, Mila, seemed to think over the proposition. The same small smile which had seemed attractive to Elle at the beginning of their visit now looked menacing.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline." She finally replied, patting the seat next to her. The young man limped over and joined her on the couch. "My childe's true death is a painful subject I don't enjoy discussing."

"Mlynaric Ludmila, my name is Elle Hart, I'm with the DPD. Are you aware that you are in violation of the vampire code of conduct by living in a human's home while glamouring the before mentioned human? Also, feeding to the point of physical harm to the donor is a violation of the clause ten of the Area 9 code of conduct. These are both offenses which would have your Sheriff sending you in front of the Magistrate if he were aware of them." Elle felt her heart thud in her ears as she spoke, but she said the words nonetheless. There was nothing else she could do. She needed to get answers from this woman.

For a moment, everything was still. Isobel closed her eyes, lips pressed in a thin line and she opened them to look at Elle with a tight expression on her face. Mila, on the other hand, blinked twice, eyes wide, before her smile widened. She flashed her extended fangs in a fairly menacing manner as she smirked. Now, she didn't look like an attractive young Russian model. Now, she looked like a beast from one of the fables Elle had read as a child that spoke of the water nymphs called Rusalkas. Then, Mila let out a sigh, relaxing back into her couch.

"Sit down, Elle Hart of DPD, won't you?" She finally offered. "I quite enjoy cheeky humans who don't butcher my name when they pronounce it." Her legs crossed, flashing her guests revealing lacy underwear and the vampire smiled. "Ask your questions, girl."

* * *

Elle pulled her hair from the usual ponytail and mussed it with her hands. She stuffed the colorful tie next to her phone and wallet, in the back pocket of her jeans and headed to change her shirt. She easily found an old one with a band logo in the front and pulled it over her bra. With a glance in the mirror, she decided that she looked at least five years younger now. Elle grabbed the black eyeliner from her makeup drawer and messily put it on. Yes, she definitely looked similar to her senior picture in high school.

Elle grabbed her summer jacket, the black one, and stashed her service weapon and badge in the inside pockets. She knew that the Chief would have a fit if he saw, but she didn't care. She couldn't very well carry it on her hip. Finally, she took a pair of old Lennon sunglasses and headed for the door.

"Why do you look like a teen junkie?" Dave's voice stopped her in her tracks. Elle turned to the right, seeing him in his boxers, again, lounging on the couch with a case file. "Are you going back to narcotics?" He worriedly pushed himself up from his perch and walked over to her. Elle managed to get a peek of a face in his file before he closed it. "Stop looking at my work, Mildred."

"Stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong, David." Elle moved back evading his finger which was poking at her jacket for her weapon. "I'm just working a case, ok? No narcotics."

"Ok." Dave grabbed the sides of her head, pulling her in and placed a sloppy wet kiss on her forehead. "Stay safe, baby girl."

"Ewwww." Elle pushed him away, heading for the door again. "Invite Amy over if you're all touchy feely and leave me out of it." She opened the door and halfway out she heard him yell back.

"Maybe I fricking will!" And Elle closed the door, laughing. The sun hit her like a hammer and Elle pushed her Lennons further up on her nose and stretched her arms out above her head. Her back let out a couple of tiny pops and then she walked to her car. As soon as she was inside, she drove towards a place she'd often walked to as a teen. The hang out spot under the bridge, just a few miles from her current apartment. She could still remember the first time she'd gone there. And, the first time Dave had caught her going there. And, the last time she visited that spot.

Unlike her, who'd been more than a bit messed up while growing up, Dave had always been on the straight and narrow. Even when the Harts had adopted him, he hadn't been like any other foster kids she'd met. David took pride in being himself, just the way he had been raised. But, that was perhaps because his parents died in a tragic accident, leaving him in the system. They'd had a chance to instill a strong moral compass into their child. And, from there, he'd held onto their memory with an iron grip. Even now, as a lawyer, Elle could see the same things in him which she'd seen the day he'd arrived to their home. With a steady girlfriend and a good job, Dave was everything Elle aspired to be.

She stopped her car and jumped out of it, feeding the meter on her way to the bridge. She looked down. Sure enough, there were hunched figures here and there, strewn about. It was a familiar, almost nostalgic sight. Elle looked left and right, making sure that no one was watching, before walking a few steps back. Then, she ran at the metal fence, climbing towards the top swiftly. On the inside, she thanked God that Dave always made her play basketball with his friends. Easily enough, Elle was on the top of the fence and then, she swung her legs over and jumped down, landing in a crouch. She slipped a bit, the knee of her jeans ending up a bit dirty.

Elle pushed herself up, wiping her hands on her jeans and hurried under the bridge and out of sight. With a little tripping involved, she made it down the hill and to the bottom of small valley. The Trinity River sat lazy and slow just a little ways off from the obvious impromptu settlement. Elle knew, though, that while the small group of people seemed a permanent fixture, it could vanish in a matter of minutes as soon as a police siren was heard.

She mussed up her hair once more and then walked into the deeper part of the shade under the bridge. There were teens sitting on barrels and old mattresses playing games and drinking. She could see a few of them obviously getting high, too. But, the teens weren't really her target today. She caught sight of a couple of homeless people, eating their lunch or going about their business. They had their semi-tents pulled up and set up. Then, Elle spotted the important thing.

A kid sat among the couple of teens, stuffing his face with chips which they'd obviously brought to the party. They were smoking, listening to some heavy metal and messing around. Mostly, they didn't seem to mind the redheaded urchin that had joined them.

"Hey there." Someone tapped her shoulder and she turned. He was a young guy, late teens or early twenties and had a dimple which he flashed at her knowingly. Dressed in all black and with a can of beer in his hand, he looked like he owned the world. "I'm Matt. You looked like you needed some company." Gosh, it was so easy being a girl sometimes. Elle put on a small smile.

"Yeah. I heard that this was the spot for some good stuff and great tunes." She took hooked her finger into the belt loops of his dark jeans and pulled him to her. "Maybe some good guys, too?" Matt seemed to drink up every word with delight. Soon, his arm had snaked around her waist, Elle shifting so that he wouldn't touch her gun.

"Why don't you join us…" He trailed off.

"Millie." She supplied.

"Well, Millie." Matt pulled her towards the teens listening to heavy metal and seated himself in the only empty space. "Welcome to the Hell Under the Bridge." And he pulled her into his lap.

* * *

"Hey kid." Elle sat down next to the redheaded boy who had been pawing at the group's food the whole afternoon. His head perked up, face messy from where he'd been sleeping. All around his mouth, there were crumbs and smears from the junk food he'd been scarfing down. He didn't say anything. "Got no food at home?" She continued.

"What's it to you?" His retort was biting, in an argumentative tone she was quite familiar with. He glared at her. Elle smiled now, she put her elbows on her knees and propped her head up.

"My rents used to give me only three meals a day, most of them as small as possible." She mused, remembering. "They would tell me that I should be a good girl and not eat too much. That way, they could use the money for what they wanted."

"You were in the system?" The kid asked, eyebrows furrowing. He didn't believe her. Good, he was a genuine foster kid. Elle could work with that.

"In the double digits, too."

"What's your number, then?" Huffed the boy.

"Twelve." Elle retorted. This time, she didn't avoid his eyes like she'd been doing the whole evening, instead, she met his gaze head-on. "I wrote the names on the inside of my school jacket."

"You're lying." He accuses. "When'd you get adopted by a real family?"

"When I was five." Elle retorts.

"You're lying." He repeats. He stares her down. "You don't look like one of us. You're a liar, lady."

"If you say so." Smiled Elle. Matt called out to her and she simply waved him off. She didn't dare look away from the redheaded boy in front of her. She knew very well that if she did, he would bolt. He was looking at her, staring, taking everything in. He was deciding.

"Is that true, what you told me?" He finally asked.

"Yes."

"But, it's not your story?"

"What does it matter? It's someone's story." For a few moments, they sat in silence. The redheaded kid seemed to be musing to himself about something. Finally, he looked back up at Elle.

"What do you want?" He didn't seem as hostile.

"Why are you here, kid?" She asked. "This isn't a place where anyone your age should be." He scoffed and pulled his things together, feet tucked as close to his body as possible. He was going on the defensive again.

"I'm older than I look."

"Sure, you look just a few months over eighteen." Elle chuckled. Then, when she didn't receive a reply, she spoke again. "Rents that bad?" It took him a few moments to answer.

"Rents were great." He sniffed. "They just aren't around anymore."

"I'm sorry." Elle sighed. "Good ones are rare and it's tough to lose them." He looked up at her, finally, tears streaming down his dirty cheeks.

"They're gone because of me." He cried. "It's all my fault. And they wanted to take me in, too." He hiccupped. "They wanted to keep me for real." And he finally broke down completely, bawling his eyes out. Elle glanced to the group of teens which had given the duo some odd looks, but she didn't say anything to them. Instead, she reached out and pulled the redheaded boy towards her, in a gentle hug. He launched at her stomach, hiding there, crying.

"Hey, it's okay." Elle tried to soothe the boy the best she could. She patted his hair gently, a little worried when she felt something crusted there. A single glance told her that it was dried blood. When she looked at him better, she could see a few smears on his knees and also his sleeves. "I'm sure that it wasn't your fault." She offered, still trying to soothe the child. Finally, after a few minutes, the kid pulled away, sniffing. He messily wiped at his eyes, smearing the dirt which was there all over his face.

"Thanks." He mumbled.

"Of course, kid." He didn't seem to like the nickname.

"My name's not kid, it's Kieran." He almost pouted, frowning.

"Well, then, Kieran, it's nice to meet you." Elle grinned. "I'm Elle Hart." He mumbled her name a few times, trying it out.

"But you told them your name was Millie?" He pointed out.

"I'm not about to give them my real name, am I?" Elle asked incredulously, eyes wide. Kieran laughed, finally. It was a sound which rang throughout the area and drew quite a few looks to them. He grinned widely at her now, reminding her of the picture she'd been staring at for the last few days and asked.

"Why are  _you_  here, Elle?"

"To find you, Kieran." The effect was instantaneous. The boy bolted, not even bothering to grab his backpack. But, Elle was faster, thanks to her training as a police officer. She grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, pulling him back down to his seat. His eyes were wide, terrified, and they were darting around looking for a way out. "Hey, kid." Elle made him focus on her, a little bit of annoyance breaking through his fear. "I'm not here to bust you or anything. I work with the police department and I'm on the Miller case. I just wanted to see if you were safe and if you knew anything." When the boy remained frozen, Elle glared at him. "You owe them that much, Kieran."

* * *

**That's all I've got for now, folks!**

**So, Elle found the boy, just like you guys were hoping for. I think the scene gave you a bit more insight into who she is, no? :)**

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed the show!**


	6. Home visits

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Home visits**

When Elle walked into the Dallas police department precinct with Kieran holding her hand tightly she caused a massive uproar. The officer on duty by the entrance jumped up from his seat behind the counter, gasping out her name. Tasha, on the other hand, was gaping, the phone in her hand dropping to her desk. Then, a large grin spread across her face.

"If you don't mind, officer Davis, we'll straight up to see the Chief?" Elle told the man at the desk, who only nodded stiffly. Tasha was beside herself with joy, grabbing the phone again and giving Elle a series of nods. As the odd duo got onto the elevator, Kieran gave her an odd look.

"What're they staring at you for? Did you kill someone or something?" He asked as the elevator dinged, doors opening.

"May as well have." Elle grinned, leading him through the bullpen and towards the Chief's office. Similar reactions followed the young officer and her charge as she walked. She caught Dean's excited eyes as he gave her a wide a grin and a big thumbs up. Elle offered a smile back, continuing on her way to the office. She knocked twice, for once, before opening the door without waiting for an invitation. Chief Ramirez gave her a half-glare from behind his desk.

"At least you knocked, right?" He grunted out. Elle gave a small nod and smiled at him. "Why do you look like you've been working narcotics? Did Montgomery rope you into a round-up again?" He tossed his pen onto the papers on his desk and leaned back in his chair, giving her a once-over.

"Not at all, Chief. I promised to go through proper channels last time, didn't I?" Elle couldn't help the slight exasperation from making it into her tone. True, she'd worked narcotics when she'd just started. She looked young enough to pass as an escort and had proper training in dealing with thugs on the street. But, after she'd been transferred to homicide as an officer she'd only given into Montgomery's begging once and played bait for some high ranked politician. It was later that Elle had realized that the detective hadn't cleared her involvement with the Chief, who had been furious, and rightfully so. They'd both gotten a thorough tongue-lashing about proper protocol and channels they needed to go through in order to authorize an op like that. But, Montgomery had saved their careers when he'd noted that the politician had had an informant on the inside. "I have someone here I thought you'd like to meet." Elle stepped to the side, allowing Kieran to come into view. "This is Kieran O'Callaghan."

"Madre de Dios!" Chief Ramirez was on his feet in an instant. "Close that door behind you. I don't need those brats listening in." And Elle did as she was told, giving Kieran a much-needed smile of encouragement. The crowd in front of the door let out a collective groan of disappointment as the sound-proof barrier closed behind the duo.

"Let's sit, shall we, kiddo?" Elle suggested conversationally. "I'm certain that the Chief has some chocolate stashed somewhere in his desk." She grinned and headed for the chairs in front of her. Kieran followed, reluctantly, like a little lost duck tailing his mother.

"Don't tell Paulina." And Chief reached into one of his drawers, tossing a bag of Hershey's Kisses at the officer. Soon enough, they had a highly informative conversation flowing.

* * *

Kieran had proved to be a smart cookie. And Elle wasn't surprised. With years in foster care, he had a bag of adult-proof tricks up his sleeve. He'd refused to leave the young officer's side, screeching like a little hellion when the social worker tried to take him away. So, in the end, Elle was stuck with the boy. The Chief had her fill out paperwork that had the boy in police custody as a material witness until proper channels could be followed and he could be placed safely with a family. Hence, Elle found herself changing from her 'narc clothes' into a proper T-shirt and jeans from her locker after a thorough conversation with the boy's case worker. She would be allowed to take him home and feed him, keeping him under constant supervision for the following few days, as they planned to keep up the ruse of Kieran missing. That, of course, posed a small problem, as Elle had work with Sheriff Godric scheduled for the evening. Which led to her current situation.

Kieran had been eager to get out of the police station and into Elle's old car. He stretched out in the back seat like he owned it and settled there, while she made a phone call she honestly dreaded. Isobel had been helpful, giving both her and officer Dean the contact number of the top three in command of the Area Nine. But, Elle hadn't even thought of using either of those contacts, especially not the one that she was currently staring down. Sheriff Godric, it said clearly on her screen. She just needed to dial. Just dial. Just dial a vampire Sheriff and tell him she couldn't come that evening for her work. Elle groaned and let her forehead hit the steering wheel.

"Calling your boyfriend to tell him you're brining your secret love child home?" Kieran piped up from the backseat helpfully. Elle glared back. Gosh, the kid was  _smart_. And snarky. It came with the job description, she supposed. Dave hadn't been that bad, though. But, he'd had his moments where he'd driven her nuts.

"As if." And Elle hit dial. It rang once, twice and then kept going. She wondered if the Sheriff was having trouble with the gadget, like with his Gmail. She was ready to hang up when a smooth voice picked up on the other side.

"Hello?" Sheriff Godric seemed surprised by the call and sounded just a bit out of it. Had she woken him up?

"H-hello, sir?" Elle stammered, her heart beating wildly. He could probably hear it from the other side easily enough, with what she'd learned about their vampire perks. "It's Elle Hart, sir." There was lazy shuffling on the other side.

"I know." Now, he sounded mildly amused, as he always did when they talked. "Is everything alright?" Elle almost choked on air. She had a certain impression of Sheriff Godric. He was stoic, the lazy kind of slow, like he was always worried about spooking his human liaisons and he was often amused by their antics, as if he hadn't had the chance to interact with many humans throughout the years. But, she'd never gotten the impression of him being kind. But, he was. As she recalled the way he'd always tried to make working with both her and officer Dean easier on them, she realized that he was. Suddenly, Elle felt rather guilty about picking up Kieran herself and not just reporting the possible location to Harris and his task force. "Miss Hart?"

"I-I don't think that I'll be able to come in tonight for work." Elle collected herself. "Is it possible to do the paperwork from home and video conference with Dean to touch base?" She already had a drawer full of files on suicides which she had begun to organize, somehow. There was silence for a moment.

"It's alright." Sheriff Godric's lilt still bothered her in a way that she needed to know its origin. She'd re-watched a number of videos online, trying to locate the proper one. "We have a few humans to re-interview tonight. I can do them on my own." Danish?

"Oh crap." Elle whispered, her head hitting the steering wheel again. She looked at the automatic clock on her car, turned on as she'd blasted the AC again. She calculated. "Hang on a second." Fifteen minutes to get home. An hour to get Kieran settled in and brief Dave on the situation. Another hour to get the kid some food and put him down for bed. Maybe they could get something on the way and cut the time? "Would you be able to pick me up at home for the interviews at nine?" Then, Elle remembered that she was talking to the vampire Sheriff. "I-if it's not too much trouble, sir."

"Not at all." The vampire replied. "And, miss Hart," Elle's head shot up. "It's just Godric, if you would." Right, he had asked to be called by his name only. She'd committed yet another vampire faux pas, apparently.

"Y-yes, of course, sir. Godric, I mean." She stumbled through, wincing as she realized that she probably sounded like some love-struck teenager or something.

"Alright." The Sheriff didn't seem to notice, or chose not to. "Shall I call this number when I'm at your address?"

"Yes, please." Elle nodded, reaching over to start driving. "Thank you so much, s- Godric. It won't happen again."

"It's no inconvenience." And the line cut off. Was he mad? Troubled by her demands after only being a single week on the job? He'd said that he was inconvenienced by it, tough. Elle shook her head as she pulled into the busy traffic and banished the thoughts from her head. She tossed her cellphone into the seat beside her and glanced over at Kieran in the rearview mirror. He was looking out the window with a semi-bored expression.

"Kieran, wanna grab some food on the way or should I cook?" Elle asked. "There's a Subway near my place."

"Whatever's good." The boy piped up.

"Let me see if Dave's home. That's my brother." Elle explained. "He's really good at cooking and I suck, honest. If he isn't, we'll grab something at Subway." She reached for her cellphone again.

* * *

It turned out that Dave was at Amy's, helping her study for the BAR. He took in the situation with a minimal amount of yelling and outrage, but agreed to help, regardless. But, in the meantime, Kieran was Elle's responsibility, which scared the crap out of her. She was actually toying with the idea of calling up her parents and asking for some tips. After all, Elle lived like a broke college kid ninety eight percent of her time. She ate when she could and she slept a ridiculously short amount of time, especially with her new position as a liaison. Taking care of a child meant making time for them, too. She would need to shuffle some stuff around and accommodate.

Kieran was surprisingly easy to handle, though. He'd followed Elle on her gloriously embellished tour of the tiny flat where she lived. The two bedrooms, one which she would be sharing with the boy, and the small living room and kitchenette where Dave was the master, through and through. Elle was a bit embarrassed by all the files and papers, along with semi-dirty clothes that lay strewn about. With her being in DPD and Dave working for a private law firm, they both had a number of cases which they brought home, trying to meander through the paperwork on their own time. It was a mess. A huge mess of a tiny flat. But, the kid seemed content.

"Is there somewhere I can put this?" He asked her, looking around her room. Elle's bed was unmade, there were papers on it, clothes and empty Subway wrappers. About half a dozen disposable coffee cups sat on her nightstand, waiting to be thrown out. Her wardrobe was open, showing messily thrown clean clothes inside. She was a slob, Elle realized. She was a horrible slob.

"Yeah." The young police officer walked over to her wardrobe and chose the bottom two drawers, emptying them on the bed. "This should be okay, right?" She grinned at the kid. "I work a lot, so… Yeah, this is how it looks on a good day." Kieran grinned.

"I'd take this over any polished home, officer." He told her and stepped over her jeans carefully on the way to the wardrobe. "It's honest." He shrugged and tossed his backpack next to her wardrobe. Then, he gave her a wide grin.

"Alright, cheeky brat." Elle messed up his hair and choose some boy shorts from her top drawer. "Let's get you into the shower." She dug out a T-shirt, as well, along with a fluffy white towel.

"You look like you need one, too." Kieran offered, sniffing at her. "Before your date with Goooodriiiiic."

"Oh, you little brat!" Elle threw the shirt at him, which he caught before it hit his head. "He's my… boss?" She tilted her head. "I think…" She shook her head. "Definitely not in the dating pool."

It took a moment for Kieran to work the shower and get himself cleaned up. He took more time than necessary and Elle pressed her ear against the door, hearing small sobs. She sighed and smiled. Good, he was letting it out. She'd wondered when the kid would finally break down. It was good that he was crying, even if it was when he had a locked door between them. After all, he'd had a poker face while he re-told the story of his adoptive parents' murder to the Chief. So, this was good.

Elle was putting fresh sheets on her bed when the front door unlocked. A pitter patter of her dog's paws sounded out as he checked out the new scent in his home. Soon enough, Dave was in her room, wearing his court suit. Without words, they communicated quickly, her telling him that the kid was in the shower and him being annoyed at her for taking the boy in without asking him. But, Dave finally threw his hands up, telling her that it was her problem and that he didn't want any part in it, before heading to the kitchenette.

"Dog!" Kieran's voice rang out and Elle forgot all about arranging her clothes in the wardrobe, just tossing them on the bottom of the section with hangers. "Here boy!"

"That's Snuffles." Dave's voice sounded. Elle came into the short hallway which led from her room, passing the bathroom and Dave's door to walk into the kitchenette. "I'm Dave, that idiot's brother." Dave was leaning on the counter, making himself coffee, while Kieran was on the floor, petting an eager Snuffles. The dog was on his back, enjoying his belly being scratched. Elle's shirt was a bit too big on Kieran, but it was clean. The boy's eyes were red, but he didn't show any signs of crying. Dave and Elle shared a look, agreeing not to mention it.

"Maybe you and Dave could take him for a walk tomorrow morning?" Elle suggested.

"Oh, please!" Kieran begged, looking at the man. "Please, mister Dave!"

"Alright, kid." The lawyer was obviously enjoying his new position at the top of the food chain. Elle shook her head and came closer to her brother.

"I'll put him to bed and then go to work. I have the vampire Sheriff liaison thing tonight." She explained. "Can you handle it if he has… you know?"

"Yeah, I got it." Dave nodded. Then, her gave her a small side hug. "You're doing the right thing, just in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't." Elle's phone rang and she dug it out of her jeans' back pocket and picked up. "Officer Hart."

"Miss Hart." Sheriff Godric's voice was as smooth as always. "It appears that I'm a bit early."

* * *

It was an odd situation. Very, very odd. Godric felt incredibly out of place sitting on the couch in the tiny living room, locking eyes from time to time with the tall, dark haired man named Dave. Elle's husband, he guessed. He hadn't bothered to read the whole length of her file, forgoing the personal section. Now, he semi-regretted that decision. Elle'd invited him up to wait, apologizing a number of times for the situation, which he'd assured her wasn't an issue. She'd asked him to come in, probably not even knowing that she'd given him permission to enter her home with those words. It had surprised him. Godric had been ready to sit in the comfortable driver's seat of his car and wait.

But, Elle had apologized, asked him for ten more minutes, and ran for the shower, after ordering her dog to shut up and not attack the vampire it seemed very anxious about. So, the Ancient found himself sitting in her living room, watching a small redheaded boy jump about, playing with the large dog, while Dave leaned on the counter top. It seemed like officer Hart had quite the family life. He wondered how her new position as a liaison between their departments had affected that.

"So…" Dave trailed off, but Godric's eyes locked onto his curious gaze. It was only slightly hostile. With the reputation of vampires around women, Godric would've been surprised at a non-hostile one, though. He wondered if he should reassure the man that nobody would be treating his wife as a pet in his nest for as long as he was Sheriff. "How's she doing during her first week?" The man asked conversationally.

"Good." Godric instantly replied. The boy and the dog were now doing some kind of a fetch game, where they both ran after the dog toy after it was tossed. Godric wasn't good with animals, them being cautious of his nature, but he was pretty certain that a game of fetch wasn't supposed to be quite like that. "Miss Hart is a good police officer. She's a quick learner of laws, too." At this, Dave laughed.

"Well, with both me and mom being lawyers, she'd better be." He grinned easily, sipping his coffee. "But, she doesn't play by the rules, just so you know. She gets a bit crazy, especially when she knows the law."

"I have yet to see her unorthodox methods." The vampire Sheriff's lips pulled in a small smile. He couldn't imagine the proper officer being unorthodox in anything. Though, the girl he'd seen jumping around his kitchen a few days ago to some pop music? He could imagine her finding all the law loopholes she could. Godric was looking forward to her surprising him, if she could manage it.

"I'm ready!" Elle came into the room, hair in a messy, wet bun on top of her head, clothes smelling fresh. Godric allowed himself to take in a deep, unnecessary breath. Dog, coffee, fabric softener and paper. Among all of those scents, he easily found Elle's unique one. The smell of her fresh, human blood. Elderberries and 0 negative. His mouth watered, fangs pushing against his gums. Godric, though, wasn't a newborn or a young vampire. They might have dropped fang at the sight of the bare, pale neck and the tantalizing smell of the woman's blood. He simply pushed back the urge to feed and got up.

"Shall we, miss Hart?" He suggested. The boy and the dog stopped playing. Or, at least, the boy did.

"You're leaving?" The child asked with wide eyes. Elle crouched down, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Only for a bit." She reassured him. "You listen to Dave and go to bed like a good brat." She avoided his swipe at her for the comment and laughed, standing up. "I'll be home by the time you get up. Promise."

"Alright." The boy seemed troubled, still, but agreed. Godric was quite surprised to receive two waves and an invitation from Dave to come back whenever as he left the small apartment. Elle followed him, apologizing, yet again. At that point, Godric just wanted her to stop.

"Miss Hart." She stopped so that she wouldn't bump into his back, while he turned to her slowly on the stairs. He didn't like the fact that she was above him. It made him feel small. What an odd thing to cross his mind, Godric mused. He hadn't been bothered by his lack of height in many years. "I believe the matter of your apology to have been closed four 'sorry's ago. I'm going to have to do something drastic if you can't move past it." He heard her heart speed up. He felt the way air whooshed out of her lungs. Afraid? Yes. She was afraid. Her blood sang to him, telling him so. Godric allowed a small smile to make its way to his lips before he continued down the stairs and towards his car. He heard her splutter behind him, knowing that he'd been teasing her, before she followed him with a groan, muttering something about childish vampires.

* * *

Elle tried not to show her shock at the vehicle Godric drove. Seriously, that thing had to cost a small fortune. Then again, she'd heard plenty about vampires and their treasures. And, if Godric really was an old one, various blogs gave him just a little over a thousand years on his shoulders, it didn't come as a surprise that he'd accumulated a small fortune. Kind of like a dragon. As Elle sat in the passenger's seat, her mind wandered along the long list of different supernatural creatures, wondering about their existence and how true the myths about vampires were. Honestly, anything to distract her from the fact that she'd provoked a vampire, her boss, into messing with her in order to stop her from her word vomit apologies. He was mischievous, surprisingly.

The young officer glanced over, watching as he drove without a hitch. He didn't seem like the type to tease someone. Then again, he didn't seem like the type to struggle with Gmail either. If she saw him on the street, she'd peg him for one of those Amish guys on their Rumspringa. He looked a bit lost with the modern world and often got that glint in his eyes, like he enjoyed seeing new things.

"The first on our list is Mr. Tucker." Godric spoke, getting her attention back. Elle forced her thoughts to stop wondering, like they usually did. She could think about the intriguing vampire Sheriff that she couldn't figure out later. "His daughter committed suicide after a rape."

"Not uncommon." Elle nodded. "Her rapist wasn't sentenced, right?"

"Tried, but set free." Godric nodded. "There wasn't enough evidence and his attorney presented another possible scenario."

"He said, she said." Elle groaned.

"Mm?" There was a question there, she was certain of it. Elle didn't know if Godric was aware of it, but he tilted his head and his eyebrow rose slightly whenever he had a question. Sometimes, it was a silent inquiry. At other times, like this one, he vocalized it.

"Rape cases without a witness are usually called 'he said, she said' at the precinct." Elle clarified. "After all, there were only two people in the room. One claims rape, the other says it was consensual. Ergo, problem."

"I see." He nodded. "How do they end?"

"Depends on who the jury believes." Elle shrugged. "Our SVU has enough trouble with them, I assure you. Especially with the delicate nature of victims."

"So, you believe that this case is outside of our perimeters?" The vampire Sheriff never took his eyes away from the road, but Elle still felt like he was trapping her inside his sharp, grey gaze. Those eyes should be illegal.

"I have no idea." Her head hit the seat as she looked up. "I called my friend from SVU this morning to see about the details of the case with him. He was the arresting officer." Elle looked back to the road, realizing that they were close. "He said it was particularly messy. The girl had been in a relationship with the guy who raped her before. It was some kind of sick revenge for him, or something. Not to mention that he wasn't a repeat offender, but a model citizen. Hence, the perfect he said, she said scenario."

"She claimed rape and he said it was a tryst for old-time's sake." The Sheriff wasn't a fool, despite being inexperienced in this line of work.

"Exactly." The car pulled up and Godric turned it off, taking his keys with him.

"Shall we?" He asked. Elle nodded and they both slid out of the car. The walk to the house was short, in companionable silence. "Would you like to take point?" He offered. Elle gave a small nod.

"I've never done this before." She admitted when they came up to the door.

"Me neither." Godric gave her a small smile.

"Perfect." Elle rang the doorbell. "Let's not botch it up." They shared a small moment of silence before the entrance swung open to the inside. There was a man standing there, in nothing but boxers and a Longhorns T-shirt. His beard was growing out and he seemed like a general mess. Elle could smell the scent of beer in the air.

"Who're you?" His voice was gruff and his tone unwelcoming.

"Mr. Tucker, my name is Elle Hart, with DPD." Elle didn't miss a beat. She pulled her T-shirt up a bit, to flash her badge at the top of her jeans. "This is my associate, Godric." The man eyed the vampire Sheriff for a second. "We were hoping that you could answer a few questions about your daughter's case for us."

* * *

**That's all folks!**

**Anyone notice the Easter Egg I tossed in? Elle is slowly warming up to Godric, no? Forgetting to address him as Sheriff properly and introducing him as her associate… With him being in a playful mood, it's quite inevitable, no? We'll see where that leads :)**

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**My thanks goes out to all who left kudos and bookmarked since last time! And, of course, to all of you lovely reviewers who keep me writing :D**

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**I'll be looking forward to hearing what you guys think :D**


	7. Accommodate and adjust

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 7: Accommodate and adjust**

Mr. Tucker had turned out to be a very unhappy camper. He'd made a number of jabs at them, from their seemingly young age appearance-wise to the messy policework on his daughter's case. But, he had talked to them, which was helpful. Mr. Tucker had re-told the story of his daughter's boyfriend being a perfect saint, loved by the whole Tucker family. How he had dated his daughter for two years. Everyone had expected them to get engaged and then married after college. Everyone but his daughter. She had broken it off, without an obvious reason. Later on, Mr. Tucker had learned that the boy had gotten into drugs and that she couldn't pull him away. He'd begun asking her for money when he'd gone broke and then stealing when she stopped giving. In the end, the boy had cleaned up, with full support from both his parents and Mr. Tucker, only to end up assaulting his daughter.

"I didn't believe her." The man admitted to the odd pair of detectives. "I thought that she was just regretting getting back together with him, or something." Elle looked down at her glass of lemonade, not really certain how to respond. The Academy had given her some training, but this was a bit out of her league. But, apparently, it wasn't out of Godric's.

"It's normal to blame yourself." The vampire Sheriff spoke up for the first time since they'd entered. Mr. Tucker looked up, meeting the Ancient's eyes. "From what I understand of human psychology, and you will forgive me if I'm a bit out of date, after a death of a loved one it's natural to blame yourself. To seek any way you may have affected their decision to end their life and wonder how it could've turned out if you hadn't spoken those exact words or done that exact deed." Mr. Tucker was gaping, both at the realization that the seemingly teenager boy was a vampire and that he'd been spot on. Then again, Elle didn't blame him. She was pretty certain that her mouth was catching flies, too. "It might take more than you're ready to give, but time will help ebb the pain."

"I… Thank you." Mr. Tucker looked into his beer for a second and then downed it. Godric's gaze, a little surprised at the thanks he'd received, wandered to Elle. She grinned, giving him a discreet thumbs up. And, she saw it again. That tiny quirk of his lips upwards.

"Mr. Tucker," Elle began. "We're more interested in the way Sandra died." This drew the man's full attention back on her. And, he didn't look one bit happy about the question.

* * *

Five re-interviews later, three human and two vampire, Elle was on the border of telling Godric that there  _was_  no case. But, as she sat in the passenger seat of his ridiculously expensive car, she bit her tongue. The first woman, young girl, really, hadn't been older than Elle herself. Sandra Tucker, brown haired, a little on the curvy side, had liked eating junk food and had been a marketing major. The second person on their list had been a man. Marvin Jones, short, chubby, with glasses and a bald spot on his head. He had been an IT support team leader at the local company which dealt in electronics. At first, Elle had connected their body-type. And, she'd been wrong. The third person, a woman, had been as thin as they came. The two vampires on the list were also quite all over the place with all of their markers. Her brain felt like it was on fire, and they had only gotten through the first ten interviews of huge case in the last few days.

But, Godric seemed adamant about there being some kind of a murder, right there in the numerous suicides. And, it had been because of that determined glint in his eyes whenever he looked at the file in her hands, which he hid quite well, that Elle had stayed silent. She knew that gaze. Her father had had it, after all. He'd had it, and it had cost him his job. His career, his family, his reputation. All of it gone because of one stupid case. One stupid case that he couldn't stop looking at like that. But, Elle knew that she wasn't too smart. In fact, she was quite stupid, just like her father. So, she'd help this other idiot who was obviously heading for his ruin in a mosh pit of suicides.

"Are you hungry?" Godric asked from the driver's seat, breaking Elle's train of thought.

"A little bit." She turned to him with a smile. The vampire Sheriff was an idiot, she'd decided. Of course, she would never,  _ever_  tell him that to his face. "Wait, is that another one of your superpowers? Telling when a human is hungry?" She'd asked him a few questions already when they'd stopped at a 7-Eleven. It had been awkward and Elle had felt like she was stepping on some kind of a courtesy line, but Godric hadn't missed a beat, replying instantly. He'd given her one of those looks, when he expected more questions, too. So, Elle had given in to her inner child.

"No." Godric chuckled. "If your stomach growled, I could hear it. But, I'm not a mind reader."

"Are there mind reading vampires?" Elle turned towards him fully, the tense air that seemed to hang around them whenever they left an interview vanishing completely.

"Food?" The vampire Sheriff kept himself on-point. After getting a nod from the girl, he answered her question. "Not that I know of. But, vampires can have numerous gifts. Where should I head out to?" He made a mental note to remember the addresses of a few well-rated restaurants. Perhaps Isobel's human could be of use there. Hugo was always chatty when he came to the nest.

"Just stop wherever. I'm not really picky." Elle shrugged. Godric had decided by then, that the young woman needed to start eating healthier. They hadn't been working together a full week yet and he had seen her stuff some of the things into her mouth that he wouldn't even consider touching if he were human. Then again, perhaps that was because his sense of smell was so sensitive. Perhaps she couldn't smell the stench of that stuff.

As she had given him free reign, Godric gave a small nod and decided to stop at a fancy looking restaurant, enjoying the way Elle's jaw dropped. He instantly knew that he was in for a meal of her staring at her plate and timidly replying to him. Probably calling him 'sir' once again. But, high-end food meant healthy food, right?

* * *

Elle got up the next morning with a sore back. She'd slept on the living room couch, as Kieran had, by some form of magic, taken up her whole bed. A glance at her phone told her that it was eleven, way past her usual wakeup time. With a groan, she pushed herself off the bed and noticed a colorful post it on the top of her file from last night, right in the middle of the coffee table. More like, her and Dave's drawing board.

'The kid needs to go to school.'

She crumpled the note from her brother, in his chicken scratch, and tossed it in the direction of the trash bin. It missed. There was another note on the left side.

'He has been fed and walked.'

"The dog or the kid?" Elle asked herself in a grumble. But, she crumpled that note, too, and got a three-pointer this time. "Coffee first." The young officer hobbled over to the counter and poured some of the black life force liquid into a cup.

"Fun night?" A cheeky voice asked her from the hallway. Kieran stood there, in Dave's old college T-shirt, with wild red locks.

"Fun isn't the word." Elle recalled her mortification at being taken out to dinner after a night of interviewing suicide victims' families by her vampire Sheriff boss. She willed the whole experience to vanish from her mind.

"He bite too hard, or something?" Kieran walked over, jumping onto the couch. Soon enough, a familiar pitter patter of dog paws sounded and Snuffles was on the couch, too, snuggling close to the kid.

"Not at all." He wanted to be smart with her? She'd give him smart. "It's just those angles, man. I'm flexible, but not  _that_  flexible." The kid's face took on the same color as his hair and he screamed, stopping her from telling him more. "I'm joking, you brat. I don't sleep with people I work with." Elle grinned when he finally calmed down. "Come on, pack up. I need to take you to detective Harris for a short talk today."

"I'm not talking to anyone, ugly." Kieran stuck out his tongue and ran back to her room, Snuffles following. He still had a blush on his face, though, which made Elle chuckle.

* * *

Kieran not wanting to talk to detective Harris turned out to be a small inconvenience, though. They left the kid in the Chief's capable hands and headed for the morgue, where Mary was ready to give them the rundown of the Miller murder. The ME looked impeccable, as always. She smiled at the duo and offered them two masks, which they both declined. However, the third addition to their team accepted it. Detective Yun had been assigned to the case as an amber alert specialist and lead on that front. And, as soon as they entered the morgue, his sun-kissed tan took on a greenish color. He seemed to be trying to stuff the mask up his nose, like it would remove the smell.

"So, here is what I can tell you." Mary began, as if calling order. She uncovered the first body, the husband. "Cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head."

"Obviously." Harris huffed.

"Before he was thrown out the window." The ME pointedly told him in a deadpan voice. "He was hit over the head hard enough to kill him. You're looking for an object with a sharp edge, too." She pointed with her gloved finger at the thin line on the man's forehead. "His brain bled out. Then, he was thrown out the window." Mary explained. There was a strangled sound from behind Harris and Elle. Mary didn't miss a beat. "Min-sun, sink." Detective Yun threw himself at it, retching. Elle wriggled her nose.

"What about the wife?" Harris ignored the telltale scent of puke in the air.

"She woke up while her husband was being killed, I reckon." Mary continued. "Her wrists show signs of being restrained, too." The ME uncovered the other body and pointed out the large handprints on the delicate pale wrists.

"Sexual assault?" Elle asked. Harris grunted.

"No signs of it." Mary solemnly looked down at the body. "Her head was pulled back by her hair and her jugular was sliced clean." She pointed out the long slash on the woman's throat.

"Two guys?" Harris inquired.

"I don't know." Mary shook her head. "It could've been. Or, she could've been restrained strongly enough not to fight back." With a shrug, the woman continued. "They didn't stop there, though. Mrs. Miller has ten more stab wounds across her body."

"Overkill much?" Elle piped up.

"Plenty of overkill. She was already dead when they did it, too." The ME showed one gash after the other. "As they kept going, there was less and less blood coming from the wounds."

"Damn." Elle groaned.

"Personal." Harris nodded.

"Plenty." Mary agreed.

"Urgh." Yun supplied.

* * *

"We can split half and half." Harris told the odd duo as they exited the police station, heading into the parking lot behind the building. "Who wants the neighbors and who wants the colleagues?" He shook two folders, one in each hand.

"We should go in pairs." Detective Yun frowned, his color slightly better.

"Then you can pair up with sweetcheeks." Harris tossed the folder in his left hand at Yun and the Asian caught it without any issues.

"You need a partner on each case, Harris." Yun took on a stern tone. "It's protocol." Elle touched his arm, taking the folder gently from him.

"If it's alright with you, detective Yun, you can go with detective Harris." She quietly commented, digging in her back pocket for her cellphone. Yun gave her a stern look. "I've got someone I can pair up with, no worries." Elle smiled and Yun gave her a nod, jogging to enter the passenger's seat of Harris' car. They drove off as the young officer was dialing a familiar number.

"Hey Dean, what are you doing right now?" She asked as soon as he picked up.

* * *

The Millers had lived in a nice, rather affluent neighborhood. The driveways were meticulously cared for, perfectly green despite the harsh Texas climate. All of the houses were painted with precision, no shows of wear and tear anywhere. Many of the backyards had signs of a pool there, also cared for. Elle could see a number of children playing in the front yard with dogs or each other. It was the perfect suburban neighborhood for a family, altogether. So, the yellow tape surrounding the Miller property stood out like a sore thumb.

"So, how should we do this?" Dean piped up from the passenger's seat. He was munching on some jerky and he had a disposable cup in his other hand. All in all, he looked eager to work in the sunlight, for once. Elle had pulled him off of desk duty, which he was all too happy to abandon, and he'd arrived at her car in record time, two coffees in his hands, as always.

"They've all been interviewed once already." Elle explained, as she'd briefed him on the case while driving. "But, then, we were focusing on Kieran. Now, we need to get as much information about the Millers as possible."

"Memory is a tricky thing." Drawled the blond with a sigh. But, he was right. The more time passed the worse witness recollection got. Unfortunately, an amber alert was much more pressing than a murder. It was a time-sensitive matter, as the abducted children were almost always killed within the first twenty-four hours, unless they were being held for ransom.

"You're telling me." Elle groaned. "We should start with next door neighbors and continue onto the rest of them from there. Would you like the lead?" She offered. Elle had shamelessly looked up Dean's file after they'd been assigned to the vampire Sheriff together. He'd worked robbery before. As well as narcotics. It was the usual gig for newcomers. But, she hadn't found too much field work in his reports. Just observing, mostly.

"I'll gladly take point on those Harris interviewed, but you should keep yours, miss Elle." Dean grinned easily. "They'll surely be more comfortable with a familiar face." Elle nodded. She parked in front of the Miller home and the two slid out of the car.

The interviews had taken most of their afternoon. Most of the families on the block were hospitable and tried to be helpful. Everyone had liked the Millers. They'd wanted the killer caught as soon as possible in order to keep their families safe, too. So, the two officers had a lot of notes and recorded conversations in their hands as they slid back into the car, the sun slowly setting behind them.

"So, we have a shadowy figure about five foot nine." Dean sighed, sifting through papers.

"And a kid who says he saw sasquatch." Elle groaned. "Beautiful."

"Don't know 'bout you, miss Elle, but I'm lost as last year's Easter egg." Dean shook his head, stuffed the papers together into the folder and tossed it into the overflowing glove compartment. He struggled for a moment to close it.

"You and me both." The young woman agreed. She pulled out of the parking spot and headed straight for the vampire Sheriff's estate. "Neither of these cases look like they're going to be solved easily."

"Don't remind me!" Dean groaned. "At least, stop for food before we go to the vamps' place. I need some real grub before miss Isobel feeds me the rabbit feed she's got laid out in that kitchen. If I see another piece of kale in my life I might shoot it." He seemed to be bothered about the food the most.

"Alrighty." Elle agreed and turned on a pop station, humming along as she drove to a well-known address to the both officers. It was time for pizza and some more coffee before they were subjected to the 'healthy regime'.

* * *

Godric and Isobel entered the rented property a few hours after nightfall. The lights were already on and there was distinct yelling coming from the home. While the neighbors couldn't hear it, their vampire ears easily picked it up. The two human liaisons were squabbling over which pattern to try and follow this time.

"They sure have settled in, haven't they, Sheriff?" Isobel commented with a small smile.

"It's better than scurrying about like two frightened rabbits." Godric gave a small shrug, looking oddly human for a mere second. Then, he vanished from her side. Isobel followed him with a growing smile. She'd gotten a distinct impression that her Sheriff enjoyed appearing silently in the room where their human liaisons were, startling them. She was glad that they'd brought out this side of her Sheriff, though. The former princess had known Godric for a few centuries already, and she hadn't seen this side, the playful, mischievous one, in a long time.

"Jesus Christ!" Elle screamed out, telling Isobel that Godric had succeeded in frightening the duo. "Please, for the love of God, don't do that." The young woman commented as Isobel entered the kitchen, finding all three occupants there. Why did he humans prefer working in the kitchen? It baffled her. She thought the study much better suited for working.

"Leave your Middle Eastern God out of this, miss Elle." Godric quipped in an even tone. But, they could all tell that he was amused. Officer Dean had a small grin on his lips, lounging on one of the barstools. Officer Hart, though, was still holding onto her chest. Her heart was beating wildly, the scent of her blood calling to the two vampires. Isobel noted how Godric had chosen to appear behind her, not the male officer. She smirked knowingly.

"How are you doing today, Sheriff?" Elle turned to the Ancient with a smirk. "Sky not threatening mass murder?" Isobel's eyebrow rose as she tried to place the obviously thought-through quip. Godric, though, didn't need to. He burst into laughter, surprising everyone in the room.

"Touché." The old vampire commented and hopped up onto the counter, peeking at the papers in front of his liaison upside-down. "Pretty accurate guess for a little police officer." Oh, he was in a playful mood, alright. Isobel couldn't help the rise of her eyebrows as she leaned onto the counter from the other side.

"What can I say, I finally placed your accent." The young woman seemed over the moon by the fact that she'd gotten one over the Sheriff. She was still attempting to hide it, rather badly. Her face gleamed with smugness.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, there is a vampire who does all these videos online about different lost languages." Elle nodded. "He talked about Proto-Celtic and its influences on modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic in one of them."

"Gaeilge and Gàidhlig." Mused Godric. "You'll have to show me when we get the chance." Isobel was in denial, watching the young woman nod eagerly. This wasn't happening. This… This  _normal_ conversation before her wasn't real. It had to be some kind of an illusion. But, it appeared that the young human officer had drawn her Sheriff out of his silent shell after one evening of working together, just the two of them. She would have to make certain that they were a pair for tonight's work, as well.

"So, what was this argument about?" The Latina vampire asked, hoping to bring them back to the task. It worked.

"I suggested we pull up the credit card records for these ten people." Dean spoke up. "We have a common restaurant for the rest. If these people also visited, it could be the connection which we had been seeking."

"But, there is also this hotel which has been a common point for a number of our suicide victims." Elle wasn't ready to give up. "It would be easier to go there and ask around, before checking out their credit cards. The legal stuff alone would take hours."

"Shall we do both, then?" Godric spoke up. "Mr. Dean, let us move to the study and track down the credit card companies while Isobel and miss Elle…  _check out_  the hotel." He seemed to be testing the expression out as he stood, moving to leave.

"Sheriff, if I may?" Isobel interrupted. "I have an acquaintance at the MasterCard headquarters." She schooled her expression with decades of practice. "Surely, it would be more beneficial if I were to call?"

"Agreed." Godric nodded. "Then, miss Elle, if you would?" He didn't seem to notice her meddling. Good, Isobel smiled. If her Sheriff knew that she was subtly setting him up to spend more time with the human who obviously did him good, she would face some kind of repercussion. Perhaps he'd give her the Fellowship of the Sun to deal with again. The Latina vampire almost groaned at the thought. That church was trouble, plain and simple.

"Coming!" Elle jumped up, gathering her papers. She winked at Dean before following the Sheriff. As Isobel's eyes trailed after her, she caught the look Godric gave her. She hadn't been as subtle as she'd hoped. Here comes the Fellowship of the Sun, she inwardly groaned this time.

"Miss Isobel?" Dean caught her attention. "Shall we?"

"Yes." Isobel stood, looking over to him for a second as he packed his papers, too. "And no more pizza, Patrick." He let out a choking sound, eyes wide.

* * *

Making Elle Hart happy was apparently an easy thing. Godric smirked to himself as he watched her drive his car, some expensive thing that Isobel had suggested, her face like a ray of pure sunshine. He was certain that she'd broken the speed limit on the freeway, too, when she'd floored the gas pedal. Godric had been the one to turn on the radio, which had also been a good decision, as Elle was now humming along, driving them to the Sunny Side Hotel. It was a small, local business, the young woman had told him. Though, it had competed with the big brands well by providing excellent customer service and giving its clients an affordable and authentic experience.

Soon enough, they were pulling up in the parking lot. It seemed like a modern place on the outside, similar to his preferred Hotel Carmilla. But, he could see the wooden porch at the end of the driveway, which promised authenticity. Or, the dreaded animal heads mounted on walls. Godric suddenly regretted allowing Isobel to meddle, whatever her goal had been.

"Shall we?" He asked the female officer, turning to her. But, Elle was too busy staring out her window, upwards, to the other side of the street.

"Godric, do you see that?" She asked him. He leaned in, one hand on the armrest console in between the seats, inhaling the scent of her blood absent-mindedly as he looked up, too. There was a tall building there, at least ten floors. It seemed like office suites. But, he saw what had bothered Elle soon enough. There was a small figure on the top of the building, at the very edge of the roof. With his superior sight, Godric could make out a young woman in a flowy purple dress. "Is that a person?" She asked and Godric forced himself to not breathe in. But, the temptation was too much. He inhaled deeply.

She was too close. Or, he was too close. Her hot breath, carrying the scent of pizza and coffee had bounced off the closed window and straight onto him. And, when he came out of that scent he was assaulted by the smell of elderberry flowers and 0 negative, stirring with adrenaline and slight panic. He couldn't stop his fangs in time. They slid down from his gums with a telltale slick sound just as Elle turned to him. Faced with a pair of long, sharp vampire fangs her heart sped up and she sucked in a ragged breath.

"That's a person." Godric told her and pulled away, back into his seat, with an iron will. "Go."

"B-but…" Elle seemed torn from asking him about his obvious lack of restraint and doing her job.

"Go!" Godric's voice was a command in an even tone. Elle nodded quickly, reaching into the back seat to grab something from her bag before she opened the door. She stopped for a split second, looking back at him with wide eyes.

"We're talking about this later." And she was gone.

**That's all folks!**

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**I just realized that I've been writing Isabel's name wrong. She's supposed to be Isabel not Isobel. Might go back and change that… My apologies xD Which would you guys prefer?  
Also, would you guys like this story to go into the canon or spin off completely AU?**

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**See you next time!**


	8. Leap of faith

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 8: Leap of faith**

Talking down a jumper with a megaphone was  _never_  a good idea. They could get startled and slip. Or, they could think that you'd try to stop them and jump. They taught all that stuff at the Academy. But, it wasn't like Elle had a choice at that point. She was on her night shift, with the vampire Sheriff. And, as clever, magical and experienced as he was, he was even more of a newbie when it came to police field work than her. Not to mention that he was currently indisposed, trying to wrestle his fangs back into his mouth in the passenger seat of his car. So, Elle needed to wing it. Wing it and hope for the best possible outcome of them all leaving with their heads on their shoulders.

"Hey there!" Not the best opening. Especially when you yelled it into a megaphone. "Hi. I'm Elle." There was no reply. Though, the silhouette on the top of the building wasn't swaying as badly. Elle decided that this was a good sign. She'd never been good at one-sided conversations and this was going to be horrible. "I'm not going to stop you from jumping, okay? That's fine with me." She paused for a moment to gasp for air. "You wanna jump, you go ahead and do it. You probably have a good reason for even being up there. But, if it's alright with you, I'd just like to chat a bit before you do?" Elle paused. The silhouette was still. "So, I'm just gonna come up there, okay? I'll bring a coffee. Do you like coffee?"

"That was a nod." Elle jumped at the familiar smooth voice whispering right into her ear. Apparently, Godric was back in action. "Let's go." She hurried into the building, turning the megaphone off. "Two coffees, on the double." She told the man at the reception desk. He gave her an incredulous look. "Look, dude, I've got a jumper on the roof I'm about to try and talk down. I know that you guys have a stash behind every desk because I've worked front desk. Cough up two coffees." Her badge hit the marble counter with a clank.

"Why do you have a megaphone in your bag?" Godric asked as the man behind the desk scurried into the room in the back.

"Are you sure that you want to know?" Elle gave a breathless smile over her shoulder, which didn't quite reach her eyes. Godric's eyebrow rose. "We'll file it away into the 'topics to talk about after that person on the roof is off it'." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I can agree to that." Godric nodded.

"Is there anything you can do if I fail?" Elle asked, her fingers thrumming a nervous rhythm on the countertop.

"I could try and catch her." The vampire supplied. "Though, catching a human at a certain speed midair… I'm not certain that I wouldn't break her." He seemed honestly mildly apologetic about the situation.

"Beautiful." Elle sighed. The receptionist came back with two small, disposable cups. "Thanks." She grabbed them and ran to the elevator, pressing the button with her elbow. "Then, I'll do the talking, you don't do vampire magic unless it's absolutely necessary." The two entered the elevator. "If your vamp speed makes me jump three feet in the air, it could make her jump ten floors down."

"If I see a chance to pull her onto the roof, I'll take it." Godric supplied just as they hit the top floor.

"Alright." Elle nodded, both to his words and to herself. "Let's do this." And Godric opened the door to the roof for her. It was a rather wide expanse, where you could feel the summer warm breeze nicely. The stars shined dimly in the sky and car horns honked from the direction of the center. Other than the noise in the background, it was eerily silent.

In the middle of the peaceful picture of the Dallas scenery, there was a young woman. She couldn't be older than twenty-five. She stood on the farther side of the small wall which went around the rooftop, shaking on the sill like a leaf. Her slim body, clad in a purple sundress with a flowery pattern was swaying in the wind. Her was a mess, the brown curls being blown left and right, making her smooth them back often, her eyes fixed on the ground below.

"Hey there." Elle spoke softly, afraid to startle the young woman. She did give a small jump and then looked over her shoulder. "I'm Elle, we spoke earlier. Or, I yelled earlier." With a chuckle, Elle immediately moved towards the small wall, about ten feet away from the girl, so that she wouldn't lose her balance from craning her neck. "It's nice to meet you…"

"Laura." Her voice was shaky. She'd been crying.

"It's very nice to meet you." Elle nodded. "Here's your coffee." The police woman placed one of the two cups in the middle of them, on the wall. "I couldn't hear you, but my colleague, here, Godric is a vampire." Laura glanced back, where Godric gave an awkward nod, but didn't move. "Pretty neat superpowers, no?" Elle sat down behind her coffee cup, straddling the wall. Her heart beat wildly when she looked down, thoughts of falling instantly entering her mind. She forced herself to look back at the young girl in front of her and forget the height.

"Y-yeah." Laura stammered. There was a moment of short silence where Elle's brain was working in over drive. She shared a look with Godric, but his expression was unreadable. He was waiting for a moment when he could grab the girl without startling her, Elle realized. "You said you wanted to chat." The girl's voice was still trembling. "What did you want to chat about?"

"You seem like a smart woman, Laura." Elle prayed that her powers of observation wouldn't fail her at that moment. She'd had episodes where she'd completely misread something. Especially something like this. "So, I'm gonna be honest with you. I'm one of the liaisons in the office of human-vampire affairs."

"The what?"

"A police task force that deals with both human and vampire issues." Elle explained. Dean had told her that they needed an acronym or something.

"Oh." Laura nodded slowly, pushing her hair back behind her ears. She was looking at Elle now, doe eyes wide.

"We have this case where someone is making people kill themselves." The young officer tried to explain to the best of her ability. "Like, egging you on or something similar. So, that's why I wanted to talk to you, Laura." Elle met the girl's eyes. They were full of tears at that moment. "Has anyone spoken to you about suicide? A stranger or an acquaintance who you're not too close with?" Laura's hand came up, covering her mouth. She started shaking, crying even harder. Elle's eyes met Godric's steel, calm gaze for a split second.

"He was saying all the right things." Laura sobbed. "It was like he could read my mind." Elle glanced back, to see the reassuring steel gaze once more, before looking at Laura again.

"Alright, why don't we sit down and we can talk all about it?"

* * *

Godric was at a loss regarding what to do. It had been two hours since Elle had shouted out to the young Laura Campbell over the megaphone. He'd gotten stuck next to the wall, watching what would happen next, as the policewoman talked the young girl down. And, that was about all Godric could've done. He'd texted Isobel to report the jumper to Chief Martinez with, surprisingly, no difficulties. And then, he'd listened to the two women talk. They briefly touched the subject of the man he was  _very much_  interested in. Then, much to his disappointment, the conversation flowed towards Laura's life.

Absent-mindedly, the vampire had taken in the information. She had moved to Dallas for school and a job which her uncle had arranged. But, living on her own in a new place had proven too much for the fragile girl. First, she'd started failing her classes. Then, she'd gotten isolated from her peers at the university. Finally, she'd lost her job. Somewhere in between the topic of Laura being isolated and her becoming unemployed the telltale sounds of police sirens rang out. Meeting Elle's eyes, Godric had vanished, heading downstairs to deal with them. He'd been a bit miffed about having to intimidate the newbie responders in order to get them to stay on the ground and let Elle do her work. Godric may have also used a sloppy glamour, not that he would ever admit it. He'd returned to hear Laura talk about not being able to pay her rent or afford her classes, and how her mind had turned to suicide. It had all seemed quite hopeless to the young girl. And, talking about it with someone had helped strengthen her will. This was where Godric found his purpose in the conversation again.

"Could you tell us more about him, miss Laura?" He'd kept his voice even, careful not to spook the young woman. She was now sitting on the small wall, nursing the cup of coffee and talking. Though, her feet were still dangling off the side of the roof. Elle kept nervously glancing at them. "What did he sound like? What did he seem like? What did you first think when you saw him?" Godric chose to walk over to the wall, on the opposite side of Elle, at a human pace and sit down. Laura turned to him now. She had stopped crying hysterically some time ago.

"I-I don't know. He was handsome." She nodded. "The first thing I thought was that he was cute. But, he was just a regular bartender, I mean. You always look for the cute one, right?" Laura glanced back at Elle.

"Amen sister." Nodded the policewoman. Godric tilted his head a bit. He didn't like the fact that Elle agreed. Dave seemed like a handsome and nice young man. She shouldn't be checking out bartenders in her spare time.

"But, when we started talking…" Laura continued. "Tim felt like home. He was so understanding and just wanted to talk about my problems." She looked at Godric again. "He had thought about suicide before, so he understood. We just talked."

"Miss Laura, is Tim a vampire?" Elle gasped at Godric's question. Laura seemed to think it over.

"I… don't know." She shrugged. "He might be?" She took a small sip of her coffee. "You must understand that every time we talked I was pretty buzzed. And, we were at the hotel bar, the basement one. It's dark and there's loud music playing. So, he might be, but I really don't know."

"I see. Thank you for your help, miss Laura." The vampire watched as the human looked down once more, her face basked in blue and red flashes from the police cars.

"I… I think I'd like to get down now." She murmured quietly, extending her hand to Godric. He shot up, grabbing it. The woman leaned on him with her full weight, but to him it was like a breeze was pushing against him. Her feet, in simple flats, came over the small wall. One, then the other. Soon enough, Laura was pressing herself against Godric's hard chest, giving him a hug, sobbing, yet again. He awkwardly placed his arms around her, patting her back as gently as he could. His eyes shot to Elle, who was giving him a satisfied, almost proud smile.

'Good job!' She mouthed to him, thumbs raised up. For once, Godric was enjoying this human familiarity.

* * *

It took them another hour to get everything sorted out with the responding officers. Luckily, Chief Martinez, after receiving a direct call from Godric's second in command, had sent an SVU specialist with the three policemen who'd gotten the call. This meant that Laura would not only be cared for by the police with proper protocol and expert knowledge, but that she would also be offered help for her future, as well. SVU detectives usually recommended good doctors to contact and sought to lessen the possibility of another suicide attempt by providing different options for the problems that had led to such depression. Elle had filled him in on all of this on their way to her home.

Godric had been surprised to see how the young woman had turned out, when she'd opened up more. His first impression of her had been a meek little thing. He hadn't counted on her making it a week in his service. Then again, she still had to interact with more than two vampires at the same time. But, slowly, Officer Hart had become just Elle in his mind. He'd caught both Isobel and himself referring to both humans by their names casually as they talked. Odd. The little things had grown on them, apparently. Through his actions, he'd tried to create some kind of a comfortable, trusting environment. Extending his help as an offer to Elle had been an attempt to show that vampires weren't all monsters. She'd never taken him up on it, but, since then, she'd slowly opened up.

First, she'd danced around the kitchen of the rented property. Then, she'd begun expressing her opinions. Next, Godric had received a distressed phone call from Isobel, telling him all about Mila and Elle's little showdown. He had been at a loss. The gamble which he'd thought was a losing one, on a pretty face with a dorky smile, had turned out to be a bet on the biggest underdog of all times.

Mila had never been an easy vampire to deal with. With almost a thousand years to her name, she was a vicious creature that could switch from being a delicate seductress into a monster from your worst nightmares. Godric knew that well. For her to take a shine to a human, especially after her childe's death, was quite something. He'd made a mental note to ensure that Elle didn't get turned in a moment of carelessness by that impossible harpy.

But, Elle knowing how to deal with Mila and loosening up in her new working environment wasn't the thing that had Godric so intrigued. It was the fact that he had found himself conversing with her at length, with a certain ease. There had been a couple of hours between their interviews which they had spent talking. Elle was a curious little human, seeking to understand the new creature she'd been faced with. Understand, without any prejudice. It had been refreshing, seeing only curiosity coming from her as she shot her questions off, mile a minute. Godric had welcomed them all.

But, he enjoyed their mutual teasing the most. It had begun with his mock of a threat to take drastic measures against her apologies. And, since then, it had become a full-on war. She'd tried one-upping him with a comment about his inability to use a smartphone properly. Godric thought the name ridiculous. Those phones were anything but smart, especially the autocorrect function. He had shamelessly spent an hour during the early morning, when he was supposed to be doing his Sheriff work, watching tutorials about using a smartphone properly. YouTube had turned out to be a marvelous source of information.

Godric had retaliated her smartphone quip with his own about her inability to feed like a proper human being in the presence of vampires, without garlic. Needless to say, Elle hadn't come onto the rented property again with a lick of garlic scent. Isobel had thanked almost every deity she knew. Godric had found it funny. And, their little squabble had continued in much the same way. He was quite impressed with her having placed him as a Celt by his accent alone. And her comment about the less than commonly known fear among his former kin. He wouldn't've expected a policewoman to know something like that, much less use it as an attacking method. She reminded him of Eric, when he was still young, and he and Godric would have shouting matches almost every hour. A smaller, more tempered Eric.

"Godric?" Elle's voice brought him back to the present.

"Hmm?" He replied to her.

"You seemed miles away." She murmured.

"Thoughts of a vampire tend to get like that." He gave her a small quirk of his lips. "We have quite a few years in our heads to keep us busy."

"Pft." Elle huffed the air out of her lungs and turned to the window of her side of the car. "I bet you're just thinking about how to avoid the obvious elephant in the room." Godric knew exactly what she was talking about. He'd dropped his fangs on her just a few hours ago like a baby vamp and he'd felt his physical age for once, not certain how to approach the awkward topic. So, he decided to deflect.

"I've heard that in fear things are bigger, but my fangs don't warrant that kind of a comparison." He deadpanned. Immediately, the mood changed, much to his amusement and relief. Elle spluttered, began explaining the idiom, then noticed his involuntary quirk of lips upward and smacked his arm in silence, huffing. Godric's eyes flew to the spot, wide. He gripped the steering wheel almost hard enough to crack it. He'd been too close to retaliation to that playful smack. He'd almost… Godric bit the inside on his mouth, the taste of his own blood calming him down slowly.

"I have a megaphone in my bag because Dave would otherwise use it for stupid things." Elle spoke up. She'd obviously picked up on the tense atmosphere around the vampire. Godric forced his arms to relax and took a deep breath. The smell of elderberry flowers and 0 negative lulled him back into the driver's seat of his car, his present, forcing him away from all the gore that had flashed before his eyes.

"Mmm?" His eyebrow rose. Elle groaned.

"He used it to wake me up a number of times." She explained. "You wouldn't want someone yelling that twisted 'wake up' song Dave's got into your ear at 6am, believe me. He's got a retarded sense of humor." Godric chose not to comment on that, no matter how much he wanted to.

"You smell nice." He chose to be honest with Elle. She'd been honest with him, after all, which was a rare thing in his experience. Godric had toyed with the idea of telling her that he'd forgotten to feed. Not quite a lie, but also not quite the truth. But, the best fibs were made up of half-truths. Though, Elle's reaction was worth the honesty.

"Are we talking about a midnight slice of pizza nice or a three-course meal nice?" She cheekily grinned at him. Be afraid, Godric thought at her. Be afraid of smelling good to a vampire, you silly creature. He wanted to warn her. To tell her that he was not some kind of a tame vampire. To scream at her to keep her distance. But, her heart told him that she already knew all that. It was beating wildly in her chest. He glanced at her. Elle had a poker face on, masking her obvious uneasiness.

"It's more like a memory from a dream." He tried to explain as best he could. "Like a three-course meal I remember tasting, but in my sleep." The expensive car pulled in front of Elle's shabby apartment complex. "The dream that I always wake up feeling ravenous from dreaming."

"O-oh." She hesitated for a moment. "But, you won't lunge after your dream food at any point? Try and make it reality food?" Elle's smile was shaky, but still there.

"Not anytime soon." She nodded at that.

"Good." Elle grabbed her bag from the back seat and Godric couldn't help but inhale the scent that she left in the wake of her motion. His gums ached. "Do you want to come up?" She suddenly asked, baffling him. "Kieran didn't realize that you were my vampire boss the last time you were there and he has been bugging me about you ever since. Nosy little brat."

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline." Godric thanked his many centuries of life for the iron will he had at that very moment. "There's much work to be done, still."

"Of course, sorry. I keep forgetting that you only have the night hours to work with." She shook her head, ponytail swishing and tapped her forehead lightly with her closed fist. "Until tomorrow, then." And she opened the car door, sliding out.

"Until tomorrow." Godric echoed. Elle granted him one more large smile and a wave before closing the door and jogging to the stairs. Godric waited to hear her footsteps stop, her keys jingle and then listened to her sigh and tell herself her next task under her breath. Apparently, her night routine was coffee and bed. She drank too much coffee, he decided absent-mindedly and drove away.

* * *

Godric's nest was buzzing with activity when he entered. While only three of the current occupants permanently lived there, he had arranged for guest rooms to be built, in case someone couldn't make it to their shelter on time. He also kept in mind that his childe and grandchilde could visit him. That kind of an event would require suitable accommodation. But, Godric hadn't survived two thousand years on this Earth as a naïve vampire. He knew exactly who to welcome into his home and who to send just a few streets down, to another shelter he owned. That was a place for human companions, donors and wayward vampires waiting on his decision about their relocation to Area Nine. He kept his nest safe, first and foremost.

The small group of about a dozen vampires under his command was buzzing in the living area when he walked in. Some human companions were present, as well. They all stopped talking, bowing to him low as he passed, silent. Nobody bothered him, but he could feel their curious gazes at the scent of an unknown human clinging to his clothes. He needed to get out of them and take a shower. The smell of Laura Campbell's tears clung to him like a second skin.

As Godric entered the restricted area of the house, which led to his study, he let out a small, almost completely silent sigh. He had always disliked belonging to a nest. Nests made vampires testy. They all wished to push themselves higher up in the hierarchy, which meant more bloodshed, in most cases. He'd been clear in his laws, though. Area Nine was a zone ruled tightly with his reputation and iron hand. Godric was merciless when it came to punishment, often feared more than the Magistrate. His order not to kill any humans in his territory was absolute. Unquestionable.

The shower he took was quick and he was soon in his chair, missing the scent of elderberries on his skin where Elle had playfully slapped it. He could still feel her warm touch, brief as it had been, if he focused well enough. The papers on his desk had been arranged by Isobel. He knew that without having to sift through them. She knew exactly how Godric liked his paperwork, separated by time submitted and urgency to finish it. Stan, on the other hand, liked to just dump a huge pile in the corner of his workspace, leaving Godric to sift through everything. He considered changing his hierarchy once more. But, at the moment, there was nobody who could take Stan's place. They needed a cowboy to round the unruly ones up and rally them behind his human-hating ways, as much as the Sheriff disliked it.

He approved a maker request with a curved signature of his name on the bottom after looking it over. Then, he also signed the papers which allowed a new vampire to move into his Area. It was a freshly made vamp, one who would definitely need some guidance. He made a note to talk to Isobel about possible mentors. The next paper made him frown. A vampire had killed his donor by accident, apparently. A mistake or not, it required punishment. Godric pushed the paper to the side, leaving it to be the last thing he'd do before his dayrest.

As he finished the most urgent reports and requests, his mind wandered. Godric had learned how to compartmentalize well during the first month of his work as a Sheriff. It had been a tough decision, moving to the USA and taking a position of power, like this. But, Eric had been a bit wild back then and he'd needed the support of his maker. Not to mention that the New World had presented the perfect opportunity for change. And Godric wanted to be that change. He wanted to leave at least one good thing behind him, before it was all over.

**That's all for now!**

* * *

 

**I'm looking forward to your feedback, as always!**


	9. Friends and secrets

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Friends and secrets**

"Mom. No." Elle's voice had a tone of finality as she glared at her coffee mug with passion.

"Mildred, honey, you're being ridiculous." Her mother spoke up from the other end of the line, the sugar as present as always in her words. Layla Hart, previously Layla Stone, was a short woman with dyed blonde hair and a sweet look on her delicate face. She was the kind of person you looked at and thought 'oh, it's a Disney princess in flesh'. But, Layla Hart was anything but a Disney princess. Growing up fairly wealthy, she'd had everything she'd wanted. Everything except choices. So, when she started her first semester majoring in law, instead of business, her parents had been furious. Layla's father ended up cutting all ties and leaving the young heiress penniless to fend for herself. That was when Layla had truly blossomed. It was after working three jobs, slaving through long nights of studying and butchering the competition to get to the top that Elle's mother managed to work as a lawyer for a private company. And, as soon as her career had begun, it ended with her marrying Elle's father. But, even after she'd stopped working, Layla had never lost her edge. That sweet face and sugary tone always promised trouble. So, Elle knew that some kind of a shitstorm was brewing as soon as she'd heard the 'hello'.

"I'm not being ridiculous, mother. I don't need a boyfriend." The young policewoman tried to reason with her parent. "Seriously. I don't have the time for a proper relationship."

"Yes, I heard about the new position from Dave. Vampires, honey?" Elle could hear her mother clanking around the kitchen.

"Aham, vampires." Elle chose not to volunteer any information. Dave knew not to, either. If there was one thing that Layla Hart enjoyed doing more than destroying a hostile witness on the stand, it was playing matchmaker. Dave had suffered through one too many embarrassing set-ups before he'd finally found Amy. And, he was desperately clinging to her in hopes of appeasing his beast of a mother. Well, for that reason and many others. But, with her eldest child taken care of, Layla had turned onto her younger one. Elle had already been suspiciously left alone with the building manager's son and her mother had once taken her on a painful shopping spree, where she'd given out Elle's name and number like some kind of an escort service hotline. The young woman had been scarred for life by the content of texts she'd received weeks after that.

"Isn't that dangerous, honey?" Layla asked. "You'd better be careful, alright now?"

"Yes, mom." Elle leaned onto the counter, sipping her coffee. As she listened to Layla drone on about what she'd read about vampires in the newest edition of All About Vamps and  _More_ , Dave entered the kitchen, dressed in comfortable sweatpants and a wifebeater in his college colors. 'Looking good.' Elle mouthed at him with a waggle of her eyebrows.

"Mom?" He asked, taking her coffee mug and sipping. After receiving a nod, Dave kept talking. Elle could multitask their mother's chatter well enough by now. "I'm going with Amy for a run. We'll take Snuffles."

"Want the kid, too?" Elle covered the speaker of her cellphone to talk to her brother. Dave's eyebrow rose.

"Stop pretending like we have two dogs now, Elle." He chastised her. "The kid needs to go to school and you need to properly get him a schedule which he can function with. I won't be your fill-in husband."

"Gah." The young woman replied. Her mother was chattering about some place named Fangtasia in Louisiana now. "He can't go to school until the amber alert's been lifted. So, until the case is closed, he's a house pet." Dave caught Elle's wrist as she waved it around, dismissing his worries.

"Don't. Ever." His dark eyes were dangerous. "Talk about a kid like that.  _Ever_." He was gripping Elle's wrist so hard that she winced. The young woman lowered her mug to the counter, prepared to make her brother kiss the floor. But, this wasn't like their usual squabbles had been during their childhood. Back then, it had all been about biting and kicking the other. Now, Dave was looking at her like he was going to murder her right then and there. "Mildred, did you  _hear_  me?" His voice was so low that she could barely catch the words.

"Loud and clear." Elle whispered back. Then, her wrist was free and Dave had moved back, grabbing his backpack and keys, vanishing out the door. Elle let out a deep breath she'd been holding, slumping against the counter. Her mother's voice was still chattering on and on about something from her cellphone. But, Elle could barely hold it up. She pressed the speaker button and tossed the cell on the counter, cradling her wrist. It throbbed with a telltale pain. It would bruise, she knew it.

With another sigh, the young woman headed for the fridge, grabbing a bag of frozen peas from the freezer and pressing it against her wrist. Dave was mostly fun, loving, mischievous and professional, when work called. But, there were moments when he got like that, too. Triggers, her father had explained one day. For Dave, who had been in the foster system while being old enough to remember the experience, there were some skeletons in his closet that popped out when you pressed the right buttons. And, Elle had apparently pressed the big, red, trigger button with her words. They had been meant as a joke. She knew that Dave would realize that when he cooled off. But, they had obviously stirred something in her brother that hadn't been pleasant.

They had never talked about Dave's demons. It was like a mutual agreement between them. Elle didn't talk about the sick and twisted aspects of her job and how they affected her and Dave didn't mention his past. They lived in an odd agreement to let the anger and frustration out on each other by yelling and then never speak of it again. And, for them, it worked. It wasn't a healthy relationship, Elle knew that. But, with the two of them, who loved each other enough to bury a dead body for the other, it worked. However, it still hurt whenever she touched a nerve and didn't know how to help her brother. It still hurt to know that he'd been hurt. Elle blinked a few times quickly to push back tears and focused on what her mother was saying. She instantly interrupted.

"No, mom. I'm not going on a blind date with your colleague."

* * *

"Hey." Elle slumped in the open seat beside Dean's desk, letting her head loll back. Her unofficial partner gave her a curious look over his files.

"Hey." Dean greeted back. "What'd you do with the kid?" He looked around, ignoring the bruise on Elle's wrist, trying to spot the redheaded menace. Within the past four days Kieran had become a permanent fixture in the DPD bullpen. He bounced around, ate everything he could get his crafty little hands on and asked one too many questions at once. Dean had been stuck with him the day before, for the better part of the morning, while Elle had taken care of some of the legalities of the Miller case. He wasn't looking for a repeat anytime soon.

"He's having a staredown with Harris in interview two." Elle sighed. "Kieran won't talk to him and it's pissing the old goat off. He got all up in my face this morning and yelled about how I should be pressuring Kieran into properly re-telling the events and arranging his witness testimony." Dean's eyebrow rose, though he kept writing on one of the papers. "He spits when he yells. You wouldn't think it, when you see him, but he does." At this, the blond officer started chuckling uncontrollably. He leaned to the right in his chair, whispering.

"It's a mighty fine time for you to get a picture of Harris into one of those memes, ain't it?" His eyes crinkled with mischief.

"If you grab the pic, I'll do the edit." Elle smugly retaliated. She got a mock salute back and giggled, leaving Dean's desk in order to get started on her own work. She needed to hunt down a judge first, though.

* * *

After begging and pleading with the ADA, Elle had two subpoenas in her hands. Even if it was usually the ADA's job to hunt down signatures, she could sacrifice herself for these. One was for the Miller case, where she needed the judge to approve a search through their finances. Now that it wasn't a kidnapping anymore, they needed access to the personal lives of Mr. and Mrs. Miller. Finances were the first step. The other paper was a formal court order for the list of employees of the Sunny Side Hotel. Godric had insisted that they try and talk to the manager after the incident with Laura Campbell. However, their inquiries had gone unanswered. Hence, here was Elle, running up the stairs of the courthouse towards the judges' offices while determining who would be the best target.

"Judge Williams seems like a good idea." She mumbled to herself as she scanned the last names on plaques above the doors. The courthouse always filled Elle with a sense of formality. She simply couldn't walk in there with her usual jeans and T-shirt combo. Instead, the marble floors and tall oak doors demanded that she wear her uniform or a proper suit. "Or Judge Johnson. I remember dad saying that she was a sympathizer." She halted, recognizing a name.

"Come in." Invited a female voice after Elle knocked on the door. She smoothed the stray hairs on her head back, her ponytail swishing as she entered.

"Good day, ma'am." She greeted the woman behind the desk. "My name's Elle Hart, of DPD. I'm here for Judge Williams?"

"Oh, fudge." The brunette middle-aged lady gave her a startled look. "He's in court all day, miss. Did you have an appointment?" Elle shook her head no. "Then I'm afraid you'll have to try tomorrow or the day after. Do you want me to pencil you in? He's got some time tomorrow around noon." Elle pondered for a second.

"It's a bit time sensitive, though. I'm going to try and find Judge Johnson and get back to you?" She asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Oh, Bonnie should be in. Her noon case got settled, far as I heard." The secretary pointed out. "Just a few doors down, miss."

"Thank you so much!" And Elle was off, carefully closing the door behind her. Sure enough, Judge Johnson's name plaque was just a few doors down. Elle knocked politely and waited to be called in. The office was similar to Judge Williams', done completely in dark wood with bookcases lining the walls. There wasn't anyone behind the secretary desk to the right, but there was a woman sitting opposite of the door. She was in her sixties, as far as Elle could tell, dressed in judge's robes and had her reddish hair pinned up in an intricate bun. There were thickly rimmed black glasses hanging on her long nose, accenting her red lipstick on her thin lips. Judge Bonnie Johnson looked Elle up and down from above her glasses questioningly.

"Good day, ma'am. My name is Elle Hart, from DPD-"

"Like Gerard Hart?" The Judge's tone was a soft rumble and crackle, like a fireplace. But, it demanded authority. Elle was reminded of Godric in a way. Maybe it was the way the woman was staring at her unblinkingly with her dark eyes.

"He's my father, ma'am." Elle nodded. The Judge screwed the cap onto her fountain pen and placed it down. Then, she took off her glasses, letting them hang around her neck on a silver chain.

"Jerry's daughter, huh?" She gave a small smile, a wiry twist of her lips on the left side. "You grew up pretty good, following in your father's footsteps." There was a moment of silence where Elle didn't really know what to say to that comment. "Are you going to be as much trouble as Jerry was?"

"I'll do my utmost best not to be an inconvenience." Elle gave a small nod. She stood at attention, stance rigid and hands behind her back, gripping the papers. Her uniform felt completely appropriate for the situation. The Judge laughed.

"Show me the papers, Hart." She waved Elle over, putting her glasses back on. The policewoman jumped forward, hurriedly placing the papers onto the desk. There was another tense moment of absolute silence as the Judge looked them over, reading. "This is shabby." She commented. "Circumstantial at best for the hotel staff." Her dark eyes fixed Elle in place. "Why should I risk my neck for this?"

"Because it will be a case which will make both of our careers, ma'am." Elle wanted to hit herself when the words left her mouth. Those dark eyes took on a dangerous gleam.

"I've already got my career perfectly made, girl."

"This is the case which will make your career within the vampire society, ma'am." Elle didn't give up. She couldn't now. She'd already stepped with one foot onto the train tracks. She wasn't stepping off until the train was ready to mow her over. Another few tense seconds. Then, the judge sighed.

"Tell me more about this case."

"There has been a spike in the suicides of the area, both human and vampire. The vampire Sheriff, Godric, deemed it worthy of investigation. He and Chief Martinez formed a unit that would specialize in this kind of work." Elle took a deep breath, much to the amusement of the judge, and continued. "Since then, we've been looking for the connections between these suicides. Recently, we managed to determine that most of them had talked to a barman at Sunny Side Hotel. However, the staff has been unwelcoming towards us." The judge raised an eyebrow. "We have a witness who confirms the story, too." Silence rang out like a song inside the office. Then, Judge Johnson unscrewed her fountain pen and signed her name at the bottom.

"You're going to be just as troublesome as your father, I can tell." The imposing woman flipped over through the rest of the papers, signing in appropriate places. She opened her laptop and typed something out, before printing it and signing it, too. "Don't make me regret this." The papers were extended to Elle over the mahogany desk and she took them, nodding.

"I won't, Judge Johnson." She moved towards the door, like at church, never turning her back on the woman. "Thank you very much." As soon as the doors were closed behind her, Elle looked over the papers and pumped her fist into the air, running towards the stairs.

* * *

Elle cursed Harris for taking the car and leaving her stranded, again. They'd gone to get some of the leftover evidence from the Miller home and he'd gotten an urgent call on another case. So, he'd left her there, lugging an awkward plastic evidence case over her shoulder, to walk to the nearest bus stop. And boy, was she annoyed. Elle had caught the last few sentences of the conversation, something about detective Soto's suicide, but nothing else. She supposed that she understood, from his perspective, why he'd left her there stranded. But, from her point of view, she was still annoyed as hell.

Just as she spotted the bus stop, completely empty, in the Dallas evening scenery, a long limousine car pulled up beside her. The window rolled down and Elle spotted a familiar blonde head of neat waves. Ludmila Mlynaric was staring up at her with curious eyes, smirking like a cat who'd gotten the canary and was now tailing an innocent fish.

"Officer Hart. Would you like a ride?" She inquired in a soft tone.

"Miss Mlynaric, there's no need. The bus stop is just ahead." Elle tried to move away from the expensive car inconspicuously. Its black paintjob glinted nicely, reflecting the numerous street lights. "But thank you very much for the generous offer."

"Nonsense." The vampire waved her off. "But, I do insist." Their eyes locked and Elle felt a comfortable buzz in the back of her head. Like she'd drunk a beer or two just seconds ago. "Slide in and let's have a chat. We're good friends, after all." Elle smiled down at her friend and opened the door, sliding inside after the vampire moved into the middle of the comfortable seat. The car started rolling down the street.

"How are you doing tonight, miss Mlynaric?" Elle wondered why she was calling her friend by her last name. After all, they were good enough friends to be on a first name basis? Though, it didn't feel appropriate to call her just Mila, like Isobel had done.

"Elle, please, how many times must I ask you to call me Mila?" The vampire giggled girlishly. Then, she locked eyes with Elle once more, the comfortable buzz returning. "Are there any news on the suicide of my progeny? The Sheriff thinks he was murdered, doesn't he?"

"Nothing concrete, I must say." Elle nodded, not looking away from the hypnotizing gaze of her friend. "Godric thinks that someone may have goaded a number of people into suicide." Mila's eyebrow rose, lips quirking into a small smirk.

"Godric?"

"Yes, he insisted we call him by his first name only." Elle nodded. "He's quite nice, despite being a vampire, you know?" Mila's amusement seemed to build up like a volcano rupture.

"Oh? And does he call you Elle?" She inquired.

"N-no. I wonder why." The policewoman looked down at her lap. She didn't notice the vampire rolling her eyes. Then, Mila's slender hands came up to her chin, tilting her head to lock eyes again.

"Ask him about it next time." She practically ordered, all the usual amusement and slyness leaving her tone. It was a straight-out command. "Now, about this someone who may have killed my progeny. Do you have a name?"

"No." Elle replied. She felt bad for her friend, losing her childe like that. "I'm sorry, Mila. I don't understand the bond between a maker and their progeny well, but it's like losing a child, no?" Mila's eyes wandered to the side.

"It's more." She whispered. "I could feel it. Every second of his painful decision making. And then, every second of his true death." Her eyes came up again, connecting with Elle's brown ones. "I want that name. As soon as you have it, you will call me. Make sure that you're alone before you do, too."

"Of course, Mila." Elle nodded.

"That's what friends do, after all. We keep each other's secrets well." Mila's soft fingers on Elle's chin pulled the policewoman towards her. "And we're the best of friends." The vampire whispered to her. Then, her thin lips, covered in expensive lipstick captured Elle's. The kiss sent heat straight through the policewoman's body, like being hit by lightning. Her hands came up to Mila's cool cheeks, holding her in place. The vampire smirked into the kiss, lazily deepening it, exploring Elle's mouth with her tongue. Her fangs were there, long and sharp, and the vampire shuddered in pleasure when Elle dragged her tongue over them. Then, the contact was gone, Mila pulling back. "Make sure to shower well before going to work with the Sheriff tonight, friend." And the door of the car opened, showing Elle that they were at the precinct. She waved at Mila before closing the limousine door and received a smirk. Then, she headed to turn in the evidence, a familiar heat in her belly which hadn't been there in a while.

* * *

"So, this is a stakeout?" Godric mused. He was sitting in the passenger seat of his car, once again, letting Elle drive. He couldn't help himself. He'd enjoyed the way she'd behaved the last time he'd let her. Pure human happiness. Because of him. And all he had to do was surrender the keys to his car. Humans were complicated, Godric decided. Very complicated.

"Pretty much." Elle nodded. "The judge was nice enough to give us permission to wire up the place, too. So…" The policewoman finished setting up a small gadget on the top of the dashboard of his car and clicked a few buttons. Muffled conversation from inside the hotel filled the space. Then, Elle tuned it further, and the two could hear the soft music playing in the background and the bartenders calling for different orders as if they were sitting right there. "Sweet, no?"

"Why would you want to taste it?" He was missing something again. He was certain that he was missing something. Like how he hadn't understood what a stakeout had to do with steak. The more Elle had relaxed around him the more modern slang he'd been learning. It hadn't been something Godric had bothered with before. But, now, he found it intriguing. He was at the opposite end of a lesson from the usual order of things.

"Err, more like awesome? Sweet or cool is a common slang synonym." Elle didn't miss a beat with her explanation. And, she didn't comment on his obliviousness. Godric liked that. "So, we just wait now." The policewoman nodded awkwardly.

"Alright." They sat in tense silence, the only sounds coming from the small gadget. Godric watched as minutes were counted on the automatic car clock. The silence and stillness didn't bother him one bit.

"I brought cards?" Elle didn't last even five minutes. With a smile Godric nodded and she eagerly reached into the backseat. "We usually play poker at work. Or Rummy. I love Rummy." Godric inhaled as Elle's body fell back into the leather seat, sending her scent everywhere. She had two decks of cards and was looking at him expectantly.

"I hope you're a good teacher, then." He motioned to the closed center console armrest in the middle of the two seats and Elle grinned.

It turned out that Godric only needed one round of tutorial play to get the rules down. He didn't have the heart to tell Elle that he'd tried the game before, but the play had been a tad different. He enjoyed hearing her talk. She explained all of his options honestly and told him why and how they could be bad or good. Her fingers kept dancing forward, to his cards as he showed the hand, and then back at hers, motioning how to make the proper groups before laying them down. Godric had enjoyed every second of her movements. The way she pushed loose hair strands behind her ear. The hum she let out while thinking about the best way to explain something. The grumble when she lost a hand. The cackle when she got a good card. Yes, Godric enjoyed Elle's company more than he liked. But, he'd decided to allow himself the little pleasure, at least for a while.

"Oh, Jesus." Elle looked through her cards, muttering something about twos. Godric glanced down at his, arranging them absent-mindedly. He had two twos. "Jesus Christ." She repeated.

"How many twos?" He asked with a small smirk at her shock.

"Stupid vampire hearing." Elle grumbled. "I've got five. Can you believe that? What kind of magic shuffle of doom did you do?" Her hand flew to her hair, messing it up in frustration.

"The vampire kind." Elle looked at him incredulously. Then, she laughed. And if there was a God out there somewhere, he had to be looking at Godric at that very moment. He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to remain as calm as possible.

"Vampire Jesus Shuffle." She wheezed out. This time, Godric joined her in laughter. "Say, can I tell you something honestly?" Elle asked when she'd calmed down a bit.

"You can always be honest with me, miss Elle." He told her.

''Why won't you call me by my name? Like you asked me to call you?" Elle couldn't stop herself from asking. It had been like a trigger, as soon as he'd said it. She frowned a bit. That wasn't what she'd wanted to tell him.

"I didn't want to be inappropriate." The vampire shrugged. "A comfortable working environment is essential for my idea to become a reality. I thought that by calling Isobel and myself by our names only we could overcome the fear which our kind usually brings. But, I also wanted to be respectful to my human liaisons." Godric gestured to her with his fanned-out cards.

"I… see. Just Elle, then. Please." The young woman smiled. "I'd like to think that we're friends, so calling me so formally feels a little weird."

"Well then, Elle," Godric pointedly looked at her. "Your move." Apparently, he had a human friend now. Eric would 'flip out', as the slang dictionary of Elle Hart said, if he knew.

**That's all folks!**

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**I have no defense. That kiss was unplanned and it wrote itself and no this will not turn into some twisted OC/OC story I am so sorry I have no idea how that happened Mila I hate you and your wicked vampire seductive ways. I'm done now xD**

**On the other hand, can anyone imagine Godric meeting Layla? Hahahahaha Or Layla meeting Eric omg hahahahahahaaaa**

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**My thanks goes out to, as usual, all my silent readers who add this story into bookmarks and leave kudos. And all of my love goes out to the wonderful people who keep me writing like this on a roll: them awesome reviewers!  
You know who you are: KuronoVixenYami, Anon and PennyFlower :D**

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**I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys think :D**


	10. Murder in the neighborhood

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 10: Murder in the neighborhood**

Two and a half weeks passed since Elle started working with the vampire Sheriff. And, in just shy of twenty days she was pretty certain that she couldn't imagine her life without the permanent fixture of the odd team they'd assembled. While the case Godric had assigned them hadn't made much progress, as they were still merely listening to the conversations at the bar and checking out the staff overlap between the Sunny Side Hotel and the restaurant a few victims had visited, they had all formed their own inside dynamics together.

Elle had found Patrick Dean to be quite the reliable man. Despite his cocky, lazy grin and numerous southern idioms, which were rather ridiculous to her, he had proven to be a great friend. Despite the Miller case being outside of his jurisdiction, he'd stepped onto the courtesy line and lobbied with the Chief to get re-assigned. Elle and Patrick had spent one too many hours huddled together at the precinct. Most of the time, they were trying to figure out the Miller murder with only half of the papers, as Harris had continued his protest to Soto's replacement, and sometimes they were just poking fun at different detectives together. So far, Harris was their favorite target, as the meme of him with goat features and animated spit spewing out of his mouth had become one of the most exchanged gifs in the police force. Someone had even added a sound effect of Harris screaming his head off about horrible coffee.

On the other hand, Isobel had become a different kind of companion to Elle. Once they had broken through the ice, which had taken a few days of working as partners, the Latina had openly asked her about her love life with a completely straight face. Since then, Elle and Isobel spent their nights, while they weren't interviewing or dealing with the logistics of their case, exchanging stories about human and vampire relationships. Elle was quite intrigued to hear that Isobel was in love with a man named Hugo. And, Isobel had been eager to ask if Elle had ever been with a vampire. After all of their time giggling together about various matters of the heart, the policewoman was certain that the Latina was trying to set her up with her Sheriff, in a rather subtle way. But, years of dealing with her own matchmaking mother had made Elle impervious to the attempts.

And, Godric. For the love of the Lord, Elle hadn't thought that he would be such a person the first time she'd met him. While he did have a warped sense of humor sometimes and was often baffled by the modern commodities, he'd become one of Elle's great friends in a short amount of time. She always looked forward to their stakeouts or the breaks during paperwork time. He had proven unbeatable at chess, but she had still owned his butt a number of times in Rummy, much to his frustration. He had a certain boyish charm to him which Elle was notoriously weak to. Godric knew exactly when to goad her into a verbal battle of clever quips and when to listen and respond seriously. She loved spending time with him, long story short. Not to mention that he was a walking vampire encyclopedia. Elle had grilled him on the topic of vampires and, surprisingly, the accuracy of movies which depicted the older times without restraint. In turn, he'd soaked up all of her police knowledge and demanded that she get him up to speed with modern gadgets. Now, Elle was certain that Godric could easily go into hacking if he wanted to. He'd even taken apart his laptop once, just to see how it worked. Though, that was an incident they had both agreed never to talk about, as Elle had had to drive both him and the gadget over to the DPD TARU and get it properly fixed.

Elle grinned at the memory as she unlocked her car, balancing a coffee holder on one hand. She slid in, instantly blaring the AC and coughing when it let out a grumble. She would either need a new car or a replacement for that old thing. The young woman started her vehicle and pulled out of the mall parking lot. It was time for work. The radio was on a roll, playing the top pop hits of the month, making her sing along and make up any lyrics she didn't know. When 'Pocketful of Sunshine' came on, though, Elle didn't hold back. She opened her window, turned the radio as loud as it could go and wriggled in her seat, one hand up, yelling along. Off-key, Godric would always comment with a small smirk.

"Smartass." Elle chuckled, thinking about it, before singing along with the chorus once more. She didn't hear her phone ring, but felt it vibrate in her back pocket. Elle fished it out and picked up. "Hart." The officer turned the volume of the song down.

"Hey, Elle." It was Montgomery. He'd been working overtime, taking a part of the homicide cases in order to keep the division afloat since Soto's case had been ruled a suicide. All of her cases had overwhelmed the department. "I've got a live one for you and your vampire Sheriff. Want to come down to check it out?"

"Of course." Elle replied. "Text me the address and I'll be there as soon as I drop off the coffee at the precinct?" She broke the speed limit a little, trying to get to the headquarters quicker.

"On its way, lil mama." Montgomery was grinning, giving her another one of his silly little nicknames. "And tell Tasha to grab the coffee next time. That ain't your work." Then, the line cut off and Elle received a text a second later. The location wasn't too far away from the station. She could be there in less than fifteen minutes if the traffic was good.

* * *

Elle parked in between two police cars on the street, biting her lip as she did. She should've switched vehicles. She definitely should've done that. But, Elle had wanted to save a few minutes and get to the crime scene as soon as possible. Now that she saw the area, she felt afraid for her old monster of a car. The chances of it being nabbed were quite high.

Montgomery had given her an address to the perfect 'transition' neighborhood. It was situated in between the nearly lawless zone and the more affluent areas near the police precinct. This meant, unfortunately, that the inhabitants had a 'don't see, don't speak' kind of policy. The homes were old, most with only the ground floor. The yards were large, with yellow, un-watered lawns and rickety mesh wire fences that undoubtedly squeaked when opened. Most of the residents, as far as Elle could spot the curious faces peeking out of windows and doorways, were black. So, she felt like she was intruding on their turf and invading their culture, as she always did. It wasn't that Elle had a problem with colored people. She just felt uncomfortable in their neighborhoods. Like she was out of place. And, she definitely was.

Elle easily spotted Montgomery. He was dressed like a street thug, as always, resembling a drug dealer first, a street-ball player next and a narcotic's detective out of uniform last. In fact, a number of new people at the desk hadn't let him pass into the elevator of the precinct, demanding that he call his partner to come pick him up. His white partner. Lamont Montgomery loved it when people mentioned the severe lack of colored police officers, less than fifteen percent at DPD (a personally calculated fact), and he would file discrimination papers with the Chief every single time. It was just to pass the time, Montgomery said when asked with a cocky grin.

"Hey, hot mama." Greeted the detective as soon as he spotted Elle walking up the driveway to the home. He seemed impervious to the stares of the numerous neighbors, as well as a number of SOCOs. "Got here pretty quick. Did you miss me that much?" He cockily titled his head at her as he asked.

"My heart aches whenever we're apart, Lamont." Elle exaggerated a motion of putting her hand over her breast, where her heart was. Montgomery grabbed her in a side-hug as soon as she was within range without missing a beat.

"There's my snarky queen." He tossed her a pair of crime scene shoe baggies and headed inside. "How's homicide treatin' you? You know I'll take you back any day if you feel like struttin' that stuff for my cam?" While Montgomery was definitely talking about Elle playing a bait hooker for his perps, it didn't sound like that to any of the whispering crime scene investigators. And, with Elle's already beautiful reputation at the precinct, she wasn't looking to give them even more material for gossip.

"I won't be working for  _narcotics_ -" Elle almost shouted, making Montgomery stifle a chuckling attack. "-again. Can you give me a rundown?" She pulled the disposable baggies on as she walked, while Montgomery hopped on one leg, struggling to stick his sneakers into the protective gear.

"Sure thing. I always hated how you can do that, by the way." He pointed at her feet with a grin. "We were called just an hour ago by a neighbor. There were three calls." The house was positively filthy. Elle wondered if there was even a point to them wearing the baggies on their feet. There were smoked joints, disposable cups, clothes and half-empty bottles all around. "The first two called for a disturbance, a woman screaming. The last one said that there were shots fired." Montgomery led Elle to the living room.

"Wow." He gave her a nod as she looked around. When you ignored the buzzing SOCOs, you could see clear signs of a struggle. The small coffee table had been turned over, cups and magazines on the floor. The metallic scent of blood mixed with dust and weed in the air. It was smeared all over the couch, around the limp body of a young woman. She was, surprisingly, white. But, what caught Elle's attention the most, besides the books, vases and pictures which had obviously been thrown around when the shelves along the walls had been smashed into, was the state of the body.

"Half a dozen bite marks." Montgomery supplied helpfully. And, truly, there were numerous, clearly vampire bites, all over the pale flesh in front of Elle. Some were in the places where she expected, the neck, the breasts and the thighs. But, others were just strewn all around, like the vampire wasn't certain where to bite.

"Jesus." Elle gasped out.

"He left this place long time 'go, baby girl." Montgomery shrugged. "We took plenty of pics. I'll tell them to bag the body and ship 'er to Mary if you don't need it here? Seems pretty open and shut to me." He stepped forward, then backtracked when he ended up in the glass from picture frames. "Hell, this place is a dump. How do you want it?" Montgomery looked at her. For once, Elle craned her neck to look up. She had gotten used to working with Godric a bit too much. It took her a moment to realize that she was the lead on this one. At least, until Godric arrived. She needed to call him. Elle dug out her phone from her back pocket.

"Bag her." She nodded, going through her calls. "Also, any evidence which could degrade over time. Be sure to hit the lights and find any extra blood or fluids around." The nearest SOCO gave her a nod. "Bag and tag it all. But, other than that, everything that can wait should. I need Godric to take a look." Elle clicked on the familiar name on her call list and moved back towards the entrance. It rang once, twice and kept going. "Oh, crap." Elle hung up. She'd forgotten that Godric was dead during the day. She always seemed to forget that one little detail about him. When Isobel had pointed out to her that she had woken their Sheriff from his dayrest a number of times Elle had felt like an idiot. But, still, she sometimes forgot.

"He's dead for the day, no?" Montgomery asked, having followed her.

"Yeah." Elle nodded. "Guess I'll interview the neighbors while I've got the free time." But, before she could, her phone rang. She was surprised to see Godric's name flashing on the screen. "I'm sorry, I forgot." Elle picked up.

"I find that highly unlikely after the first ten times." His tone was as smooth as always, though a little gravely from having just been woken up.

"Maybe you just need a quieter ringtone." Elle shot back instantly, making Montgomery give her a curious look.

"That would defeat the purpose of having a ringtone." Godric didn't miss a beat. "What's wrong?" It was always like that. Waking him up meant that something was wrong. Calling him, in general, meant that there was some kind of an emergency. Except the one time Kieran had decided to ring the Sheriff for kicks.

"We've got a murder up on Oak Cliff." Elle informed him. "Vampire bites all over the vic. I'll leave the scene as intact as possible for you to check out?"

"Sounds good." Godric replied, voice fading out. He was moving away from the speaker again. A bad habit Elle still had to break him out of. "Will you do the interviews with the neighbors in the meantime? Have you got a partner for them?"

"Glad we're on the same page." Elle smiled. They were always on the same page. "Montgomery's with me. We'll do them and I'll brief you when you get here? I'll share my location with you."

"That's on WhatsApp right?" He asked.

"Yes." She was proud of him. Who would've thought that she'd have the chance to teach a thousand plus year old vampire the perks of owning an expensive smartphone? "I'll ping you if I change locations."

"Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can." With that, the conversation was over and the line cut off. Montgomery was still looking at Elle incredulously when she pocketed her phone.

"What?" She asked.

"You're awful casual with that vamp, lil mama." The detective smirked at her. "Good in the sheets?"

"Wouldn't know." Elle flippantly replied and left the house. The Dallas sun hit her straight in the face, making her sweat instantly.

"Damn girl." Montgomery was right behind her, struggling to take off his baggies. "You better give me all the details once you've been around the block."

"Pft. Godric and I?" Elle raised her eyebrows. She was still a bit jealous how Godric could only raise one imposing eyebrow to pose a question. She looked ridiculous attempting it and she knew it. She'd practiced in her bathroom mirror. "Never going to happen." Elle shook her head.

"You keep telling yourself that, baby girl." Montgomery quipped. "Let's grab them while they're fresh. I've got the names of the 911 callers." And, they were off to work.

* * *

Godric didn't go back to sleep after Elle's call. Unfortunately for him, he never seemed to be able to return to his dayrest after she'd ignorantly rung his number. The mere thought of her name flashing on the screen of the small device brought a certain sense of anticipation to Godric's mind. And, he was very familiar with that kind of excitement. He'd spent almost the whole two thousand of his years on this Earth feeling it and succumbing to it. It made his gums ache and his undead heart almost beat with anticipation. The hunt. Elle triggered his base instincts as a vampire in the worst of ways.

At first, Godric had pushed them back. He'd thought that it was merely the fact that she was a human in his vicinity, a rare thing, which had triggered it. However, working with Patrick had shown him the error of his ways. Godric held absolutely no desire to make his heart beat faster and chase him down a lawn for sport. But, with Elle, that was the only thing he wanted to hear. That heart. That strong, young heart beating wildly whenever he was close. And, call him childish, but he had given into his desires. At least the heart beating part. Perhaps he'd even chased her down a lawn or two. It had all been good fun, though. The silly girl had challenged him to a race to the car after one of their interviews. Challenged him... a vampire... an old vampire... to a race. Well, more of a chase, in fact. Though, he had rather smugly used his supernatural speed to appear in front of the passenger door and open it for her. She hadn't been too happy about that.

But, even the anticipation of the hunt hadn't been the worst part of his recent insomnia. It was her voice. Godric kept replaying Elle's voice inside of his vault of a mind like a tape. It was purely to learn, he'd assured himself. He merely wanted to study all the knowledge she'd been so kind to bestow upon him in his old age. But, some part of him still knew that he merely liked the sound of her slight southern lilt as she talked a mile a minute, explaining some silly thing or the other to the best of her ability. Often with the help of something called the Wikipedia.

So, after glancing at the clock and realizing that he had more than eight hours to waste due to his Elle induced sleep deprivation, Godric rose from his dayrest space and walked over to his desk. Might as well finish his work. He pulled out the tissues he had begun keeping in his first drawer and started sifting through the messy pile of papers in front of him. Stan. It had been Stan's turn to give Godric the paperwork. This meant a large, messy pile of papers and folders. One of the requests for settling down even had a blood smear on it. After a small whiff, Godric decided that it was an A plus of a fairly young human girl. He hoped, he really did, that she had been a willing donor. Godric's gums ached, but he pushed back the urge. He hadn't fed in a while. He would have to rectify that as soon as possible. He couldn't risk dropping fang on Elle again. He would never hear the end of it. Isobel had taught the girl one too many sexual things about vampires, much to Godric's displeasure. Now, he had to suffer the merciless teasing. Then again, he gave as good as he got.

Another vampire had settled in his Area, the Sheriff read. One more had claimed a human. Someone was worried about the V on the streets. All of it had to pass over his desk. Some of the papers weren't urgent, but Stan had never really bothered with that. Godric, once again, wondered if he could get away with replacing the fool. Perhaps with a younger vampire. Someone who knew what organization was, he hoped.

It seemed like minutes passed before Isobel was in his office, not bothering to knock. If he'd wanted, Godric could've heard what everyone was doing in his nest, even half a mile away. But, he'd grown lazy in his old age. Slow. Somehow, he wasn't bothered with discovering just how far he could push himself, unlike in his youth. Gifts like flight and the ability to rise before sundown were normal to him. Common.

"Sheriff." The Latina vampire greeted. "You've been awake for long?" She glanced at the mountain of bloody tissues in the bin.

"Elle called." Godric replied off-handedly, eyes still focused on his work. Isobel gave a small laugh.

"No matter how many times I tell her, she forgets." The Latina vampire shook her head. She came closer to the desk. "Sheriff, the joint task force is doing well, isn't it?" Now, Godric did look up at his second. He sighed and dropped his pen, leaning back in his chair.

"I would've liked to have had at least two closed cases behind us before we got to this point." He admitted.

"You may have chosen a hurdle a bit too high for us, then." Isobel gave a small smile. "We may be superiors in abilities to humans, but we aren't magicians. And they are only human." Her head tilted to the side.

"Indeed. I was too ambitious." Godric agreed. "Regardless, that case is important." He shuffled some papers around and took out a folder from under all the requests and updates he had. "Here. Call a meeting with the King. We can conference tonight if he is available." Isobel nodded, accepting the file and turning to leave. "Also," The Latina vampire stopped just shy of the door. "Invite all the prominent vampires, especially the makers living with their progenies and any nest leaders to a soiree." Isobel sighed.

"It's time, then?" She asked with an almost sad look. Godric nodded, grim.

"It's time." He picked his pen back up. "Two days from now, we go to battle."

* * *

Godric didn't bother with his car, for once. While he did find the vehicle useful, it felt like a good night for a flight. And, it was faster to just fly. He could disregard the street signs, red lights and the traffic jams. Also, he could completely ignore the laws of physics, as usual. Godric found the crime scene easily enough. It took him a moment of listening before he heard it. The laughter ringing out across the air, like a whispered secret. He could find her anywhere.

"Jesus Christ!" Elle jumped when he appeared right behind her, just as she was turning. "Seriously?" She asked him with raised eyebrows as soon as she got over her shock. Godric could still hear the fast beating of her heart, though. That delicious thumping, quick and alive. It was beyond tempting. She really needed to let her hair down once in a while and cover her pounding jugular. Or, maybe she'd find his long fangs right inside it at some point. Restraint, Godric chastised his own thoughts.

"Good evening to you, too, Elle." He greeted with a calm poker face. She shook her head a him.

"What happened to you?" Elle asked, giving him a once over. "You look like you've been through a dryer?" The black man who'd been talking to the house owners of the lawn he'd landed on neared them just to hear the end of Elle's sentence. He gave a small nod to Godric and a smirk.

"It's a secret." The vampire decided to be petulant, because it brought out the best reactions in the woman.

"Pffft, alright. Alright." Elle threw her hands up. "More vampire secrets. Okay." She seemed miffed as she walked off the lawn and onto the street.

"Montgomery, pleasure to meet you officially." Grinned the tall black man, extending his hand to Godric and making him look up, much to the Sheriff's displeasure. The vampire eyed it for a moment before taking it and shaking it politely.

"Godric."

"I've heard a lot about you from Elle, sir." Montgomery told him. "She's a bit of a fangirl, ya know?" Elle shouted for them and the two started walking after the policewoman.

"Fangirl?" Asked the vampire.

"She likes you, dude." Montgomery seemed to wait for a reprimand for a second before he relaxed more, a swagger appearing in his step. "Won't shut up about how amazing you are."

"Mmm." Mused Godric. He hadn't known that. What had he done to impress her? He wasn't really certain. He'd given her an almost impossible case and asked her numerous questions about modern technology. If anything, Elle should be displeased with him.

"You have that look on your face like you have no idea why…" Montgomery commented with a chuckle.

"Perhaps it was the car." Godric quipped, looking up at the tall detective.

"The SP1 Ferrari?" Montgomery's eyebrows rose. "Dude, it was definitely the car."

**That's all for now folks!**

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**How did you guys like Montgomery? He's one of my fav OCs here xD And, I know that I'm off with the timeline for WhatsApp, as it was developed in 2009, but bear with me xD**

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**Looking forward to hearing what you guys thought!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to address a few things about the previous chapter I suppose I hadn't been too clear about:
> 
> Mila doesn't glamour Elle to kiss her. She glamours the following:
> 
> -Elle getting into the car  
> -Name of her childe's killer and Elle being alone when she reports it  
> -Friendship with Elle  
> -Asking Godric about the way he addresses Elle (for kicks, mostly)  
> The kiss is completely voluntary and has nothing to do with glamour.
> 
> Next, Dave and Elle's scene regarding the 'house pet' Kieran thing. There are reasons why it's there, and I feel like it fit well, so I'm really sorry that some of you guys felt like it was forced. Here is my reasoning why this was an 'alright' scene in my book:
> 
> -Elle tends to speak without a filter with Dave, assuming that he'll automatically 'get' all the jokes  
> -What Elle means by being a 'house pet' is not leaving the home and showing his face at any public places – the police still think that the Miller murderer is looking for Kieran  
> -Dave spent some years in the foster care system and he's had his own bad experiences. The specific word 'house pet' is linked to a particularly bad one for him and he simply reacts.  
> -Dave and Elle aren't a perfect family – they both have their issues  
> -Finally, Elle is a cop. When Dave grabs her wrist, she even considers making him 'kiss the floor'. When it comes to self-defense against her lawyer of a brother she definitely has the upper hand. She was never in any real danger.
> 
> Now that I've addressed that… This isn't something that happens often with them. Ninety percent of the time, they're functioning like a well-oiled machine and get each other perfectly. Kieran disrupted their usual organization and they're both accommodating, high on tension. I will definitely be addressing this topic later on, giving you guys more insight into why this had to happen.
> 
> Finally, domestic abuse is something that I'm very much against. I don't believe that any woman or man should stay in a situation like that. So, no, Elle will not be an abused woman or anything like that in this fic. Moreover, I can't see someone like Elle just sitting back and 'taking it'. Nor can I see Dave, a former abused foster kid, being the abuser with his moral compass and job as a lawyer.
> 
> Now, I'm done ranting xD


	11. An ancient storm

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 11: An ancient storm**

The music was pounding from Elle's head straight into her core. She couldn't help the slight bounce of her leg and hip as she waited in front of the club. Their victim had been identified as Dixie Marshall. She had been twenty-six and a frequent visitor at the police station. The charges of prostitution, drug possession and domestic abuse had piled up in a familiar pattern on Elle's PC screen. So, she and Godric had decided to visit the common haunt of his young woman, a famous club named The Brides' Quarters. Elle had frowned at the name, before giggling like a madwoman. Such a ridiculous reference to Bram Stoker obviously told all the guests that it was an inclusive space. And, Godric had confirmed it, saying that many of his subjects frequented the establishment. Montgomery had been quite helpful, as well, telling them how he'd heard a number of rumors that TBQ was a favorite spot for V dealers and users.

So, this is how Elle found herself in front of the tall metal door, after changing into the fanciest thing she had in her locker, short shorts and a spaghetti strap black shirt, which left little room to hide her gun and badge. She had shaken out her hair, combing her fingers through the messy length of it, frowning at the knots and dryness of it. She needed a new conditioner or something.

"Let's go inside." Godric came over, his phone still in his hand. He'd contacted Isobel and kept her up to speed with the situation. She and Dean would be in charge of the suicides for the night while Godric and Elle solved the other case, hopefully. "You look like vampire bait." He frowned at her, giving her a once over.

"Is that bad?" Elle asked, looking down at the cleavage her black shirt exposed. Godric shook his head.

"You look like the victim." He grumbled. "Just stay close to me and don't do anything rash." Elle nodded, then offered a small smirk.

"Like threaten a vampire?" She had received a thorough tongue lashing about recklessness after the incident with Mila from both Isobel and Godric. Elle really wasn't looking for a repeat of that. Godric only gave her a pointed look and led the way to the bouncer. He was a scrawny guy without much muscle on him. And, if Elle was anyone else, she would've laughed. But, she had guessed that he was a vampire. Hence, physical appearance had nothing to do with his strength.

"Aaron." Godric greeted in an even, authoritative tone.

"Sheriff." The vampire jolted, standing as straight as possible and then bowed his head. "It's a rare thing for you to visit our establishment."

"It's a necessity." Elle looked between the two. Godric, while he looked unimposing, was definitely the authority there. There was a different kind of air about him. Something that she hadn't seen before. He almost seemed… frightening. "Have you seen this human recently?" It wasn't a question. That was a clear order to reply. This kind of Godric, the Sheriff, Elle hadn't seen before. She bit her lip, telling herself to calm down. She'd always had a thing for guys in the position of authority.

"Yes." The vampire looked at the picture extended to him. "She comes in at least twice a week." Aaron returned the image to his Sheriff. "I believe that Phillipe had claimed her."

"I see." Godric tucked the image back into his pants pocket. "Speak to no one about my visit." And then, the Sheriff led Elle into the club. It was dark and the music was impossibly loud. The hallway leading up to the main space was lit with blue and red led lights at the bottom of the walls, like some kinds of twisted veins and arteries. There were images from popular vampire fiction, mostly Dracula, along the hallway. They, too, were lit with blue and red led lights.

Elle allowed Godric to walk her in with an air of no-nonsense around him. She could see how his back was tense, shoulders squared. He was anxious about something. They passed a counter behind which Elle caught sight of a clothing rack, mostly empty. The woman behind it was a brunette, tall with striking features. She bowed to Godric as they passed, but he ignored her. Elle decided firmly, then and there, that she didn't like Sheriff Godric. He was a dick.

The next metal door led them into the main space of the club. There, the music was even louder, if possible. Each beat of the bass went straight to Elle's heart, making it pound in her chest. She didn't know the song, but she decided that she liked the rhythm. It was catchy.

The inside of the club wasn't what she had expected. Still decorated with blue and red lights, flowing like veins around the bar, booths and the dance floor, it was a little freaky. There were over sixty people around, most of them scantly dressed, moving in the beat of the music. The bartender was a tall man, pouring drinks with vampire speed and mixing cocktails with clear expertise, like a magic show. Elle spotted various cobwebs, vampire memorabilia and other telltale symbols of the mythical aspect of the creatures all around. There was a large heart behind the stage, lit up with the beat of the bass, pulsing steadily and collecting all the blue and red leds inside it. Above it was a second floor, where Elle could spot curious and impassive faces peering down. The whole establishment was a mixture of black velvet and dark iron work. It was terrifying and intriguing at the same time.

"I feel  _really_  underdressed right now." She leaned into Godric's ear, speaking in a normal voice with a small smile. The quip didn't help relax the old vampire. He just glanced over to her and shook his head.

"As long as you're not in leather or latex, I'm fine." The corners of his lips lifted a bit and Elle mentally cheered. "Keep your badge and gun out of sight. I'm all the authority you will need in here." And he was off. Elle followed him through the sweaty bodies towards the bar, keeping a close eye out for any friskiness between races. But, she couldn't see any human being openly fed upon. They weren't breaking any laws openly.

Godric slid onto a bar stool and Elle joined him. It took a mere second for the vampire bartender to appear before them at his supernatural speed. He bowed his head slightly and Elle took the chance to get a better look at his appearance. Tall, dark and handsome fit him well. He had slightly wavy hair pulled in a ponytail and his eyes were sharp, like midnight, full of warning. There was a smirk on his full lips.

"Bartholomew." Godric addressed him and Elle strained to hear their conversation. While he had almost yelled earlier, knowing that she had human hearing, he wasn't bothering now. "Where are they?" Bartholomew's head rose from the small bow.

"In the back. Shall I fetch them for you, Sheriff?" He asked in an attractive tenor.

"No need." Godric slid off the barstool, then turned to Elle. "I'm going to talk to the owners of this establishment." Elle nodded, then turned around, leaning back onto the bar with her forearms, legs crossed.

"I'm good here." She smiled at him. Godric's eyebrow rose in a questioning manner. "I won't do anything rash, I swear. I'll just watch and enjoy the music." The eyebrow was still there. Elle balked. "C'mon, Godric, I haven't been at a club in… forever! I won't drink and I'll just sit here." The eyebrow went down.

"Bartholomew." He addressed the bartender who stood at attention. "This is my associate, Elle. Get her anything she needs." And then, he gave Elle one more pointed look before vanishing. Elle turned to Bartholomew and offered a small smile to the vampire who seemed shocked to have a human left in his care.

"I'm good, really. Feel free to go about your business as you usually do. Godric's just being a worrywart." Bartholomew gave her a small smirk and then vanished. He had masked his shock at her familiarity with the Sheriff well, Elle giggled. She turned back to the dance floor with an easy smile of amusement. The beat was still nice, despite the song having changed. And, this one, she actually knew. It was some kind of a darker remix of Rihanna's Disturbia and damn, it sounded great. Elle's foot started tapping up and down in the air along with the beat.

The flashing lights of the dance floor illuminated one, then another body, twisting and jumping to the song. Elle felt the usual exhilaration which came with being in a dance club. Her lips moved on their own, mouthing the lyrics and she glanced at the door where she'd spotted Godric vanish. He was still gone. Elle smirked and figured that there was no harm in a little fun. She relaxed her 'cop stance' and allowed her hands and waist to move to the beat, her behind never leaving the barstool. She had promised to sit, after all. Soon enough, though, Elle's head was moving to the beat, as well, hair whipping left and right against her shoulders.

Someone's hand tapped her back and Elle turned to find Bartholomew standing right behind her. He had a small smirk on his face now, of a different kind though. It was like he had become privy to some wild secret she didn't know about.

"From the gentleman over there." Bartholomew slid a glass onto the bar countertop, right beside Elle's hand. It was a pretty drink, she almost frowned. A chick drink. It had a little umbrella, gothic style, and a cookie that looked like a coffin attached to the side of the glass.

"Who was it from again?" She asked, now following Bartholomew's finger as he discreetly pointed at a man in the booth near the entrance of the club. Elle squinted at the patron. He was tall, well-built with wide shoulders that strained against his dark dress shirt. She could spot that he had dark wavy hair, not too long or too short, tousled perfectly on his head. Elle would bet that he was as adorable as a puppy from up close. "Is he a regular?" She leaned in to ask Bartholomew. The bartender nodded.

"That's Glen." Explained the man. "He's in here pretty often, I guess."

"Pretty often seems often enough to be in your vault." Elle smirked at the vampire. He looked down at her, eyebrows rising and mouth quirking into an attractive smile.

"Pretty nifty with vampire expressions for a little human, aren't you?" Bartholomew asked curiously. But, Elle had been trained to withstand interrogation.

"The endless perks of being able to use Google properly." They both knew that that kind of information wasn't online. There were too many myths which vampires had spread about themselves to sift through in order to get real information. Unless you had a vamp willing to answer all of your questions, you wouldn't know about something like the vault. "So, is this safe to drink?" Bartholomew gave an exasperated look.

"Made it myself and delivered straight to you."

"Oh, sorry. I meant, is there any alcohol in it? I'm working." This got another interested look from Bartholomew.

"The coffin bite isn't." He answered.

"The what now?" Elle almost burst into laughter.

"The cookie." He pointed at the small coffin attached to the side of her glass. "It's a bite because it bites the edge." Then Bartholomew waggled his eyebrows. "Or because the resident inside can bite."

"Oh, Lord." And Elle dissolved into a fit of giggles then, making the vampire chuckle along. "Alright, thanks. I'll let you know how it bites." She winked at him exaggeratedly and Bartholomew wandered off with a loud belly laugh. Now, Elle looked back at Glen, the man in the booth and found his gaze focused on her. She raised her glass in thanks. The man took his own drink, a Tru Blood, she realized with a warning bell going off in the back of her head, and he drank. She, in turn, grabbed the cookie with her teeth and dangled it in the air for a second, before eating it. But, Elle didn't touch the drink and placed it back down. She turned around, eyes sliding over the back door of the club where Godric had gone, and then she was watching the dancers again. Soon enough, she wasn't alone at the bar.

"The drink not to your liking?" Glen slid onto the barstool where Godric had been sitting just ten minutes ago. Elle almost wanted to tell him that the seat was occupied and to get lost. But, she looked at him and smiled a bit.

"I don't drink on the job." She retorted. Gosh, he  _was_  cute. In that boyish way. His dark shirt accented the pale vampire skin and his eyes were a warm brown, focused on her. And his mouth was the perfect shape, tilted a bit to the side, showing a dimple in the right corner. Ideal boyfriend look.

"Oh, you a CI or something?" His words had a bit of an accent to them and Elle easily pinpointed a bit of an Irish lilt to it. He was from the UK, probably, or had spent a lot of time there.

"Or something." She answered.

"Well, mysterious women are a total turn-on for me." Glen continued rather boldly. "Just for your information." Elle was about to retort when he pointed to a young woman with long black hair that reminded Elle of Morticia Adams. "Like her. She looks very mysterious." Oh, he was good with that push and pull. The policewoman laughed, shaking her head.

"Why not try and buy her a drink, then?" She asked, turning slightly towards the cute vampire.

"I don't really have the courage, you see." Glen shrugged. "I'm shy by nature." Elle was laughing again.

"What's this then?" She asked, pointing to her glass.

"A test." At this, she couldn't help but burst into giggles. "What? If it works on you, I figured it would work on her, too!" The vampire defended.

"Alright, alright." Elle shook her head and glanced at the back door again.

"So, do you think you could help me out?" Glen wasn't giving up. Elle titled her head, encouraging him to tell her more. "When I buy her a drink and try to woo her, how do I get to first base?" She couldn't help laughing a bit again. He was  _good_.

"Well, you could try and ask her to teach you. If you're into a woman on top." She suggested, shrugging. Now, Glen moved even closer to her, almost touching her bare arm.

"Alright, I could try that." He nodded. "Do you think I could practice with you?" Those chocolate colored eyes shined with mischief.

"Sure. Give it your best shot." Elle challenged.

* * *

Godric had had enough with the incompetence of his subjects. He'd reluctantly allowed The Brides' Quarters to be established and demanded any incidents be reported straight to him. And, the trio who had banded together had been cooperative to the best of their ability. Lola was the one who always filed their taxes properly and on time. Illona was the one who always came to Godric's meetings and asked smart questions and mingled with the other vampires of his nest. He knew that Isobel was good friends with the woman. Finally, Ophelia was the person to seek if you had a problem. She was the one that was always up-to-date with the local gossip and incidents at the club. Though, all three of them had failed him that evening, not knowing anything except that Dixie had been in their establishment and mingled with almost everyone. They didn't even know where Phillipe was.

When he left the back room in order to fetch Elle and leave, Godric was already bristling with anger. But, the scene that his eyes were met with when he scanned the bar where he'd left the human finally got him to snap. Elle was encircled in the arms of a vampire Godric didn't know. And he didn't care to know. She had her head thrown back and the vampire was kissing down her neck, his arms holding her tight against him, despite the fact that she was still sitting on the barstool he'd left her on. Godric snapped.

It was like the whole club was suddenly in slow motion. He could feel the temperature drop around him and he recognized the way his ears became almost deaf, zoning into only one thing. The rhythmic, quick beating of Elle's heart. He didn't see Bartholomew drop his shaker on the floor and move to the wall, as far from the Ancient as possible. He didn't see the way almost every vampire stopped dancing and moved a few steps backwards, as well. Godric only had eyes for that greedy little baby vamp on his liaison's neck.

A woman shrieked when he vanished, appearing right behind the unknown vampire and pulling him off Elle by the back of his neck in an iron grip. The human's head snapped back up and her eyes were wide, kiss bruised lips whispering something along the lines of 'uh-oh'. But, Godric was deaf. His fingers tightened on the vampire's neck who had stopped thrashing as soon as he caught sight of the Ancient holding him.

"S-Sheriff, I beg your forgiveness!" The vampire choked out. "I didn't realize that she was yours." Those words got Godric to look away from Elle's wide eyes and focus on the vampire begging for mercy in his grasp. He was young, the Sheriff could tell. Not even over a hundred.

"Name." Godric's tone was so low that the vampire almost didn't catch it.

"G-Glen Armstrong." Elle wasn't his. She was nobody's. She was Dave's, at best. He had no jurisdiction to punish the vampire. He hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't crossed the line. It was  _him._  Godric was crossing the line.

"Have a good evening." And Godric released him, leaving him in a trembling heap on the floor. The Ancient went to grab Elle's wrist, but stopped himself. He didn't have the jurisdiction to. She wasn't his to touch. She wasn't  _his_. "I'm finished." Godric tried to collect himself but his gums hurt and he felt all the pent-up rage he hadn't experienced in a long time crawling all over his skin like a beast. A hungry beast.

"O-okay." Elle's voice was a bit hoarse but she jumped off the barstool and headed for the exit with him. She didn't turn to see Glen pick himself up slowly, still trembling like a leaf. As soon as they were outside, Godric turned, facing Elle with blazing eyes.

"What were you  _thinking_?" He hissed at her. But, the reaction he got wasn't a meek one. She didn't step back, but moved towards him, instead.

"I didn't move from my barstool, like I promised." Godric's mouth opened to berate her, but she was faster. "I was  _thinking_ ," Elle hissed out. "That Dixie attracted a similar kind of attention that I would. So, I was  _thinking_  to get his DNA to test against the one on the bite marks on her." Godric's mouth closed and then opened again.

"You were being  _stupid._ " Sound had returned to Godric's ears when Elle had explained the situation. He could hear almost everything now. Everything was painfully loud.

"I'm sorry you were worried. But, I was doing my job." Elle grunted out, hands on her hips. "Now will you get a swab from my bag and bag and tag this or do I have to return in there and swipe Glen's Tru Blood bottle?" Godric realized that he had jurisdiction there. She had been doing her job, apparently. And, he was her boss. His hand gripped her wrist, stopping Elle in her tracks. Her heart started beating erratically when she looked at him, noticing that he was still furious. Good. Be afraid of  _me_  at least, Godric thought.

"This will never happen again. Not if you're working for me." He told her in an even tone, not much different from their usual banter tone. But, there was power in it. His power poured into it. "Is that understood?"

"Crystal." Elle hissed back.

* * *

Elle slid into the passenger seat of the car after Godric had entered the other side, slamming his door and making her wince. True, her car was old and could take the hit. True, he hadn't used his full strength. Damn, did he really have to slam it that hard?

The inside of the car was like a funeral home or something. Eerily silent and full of tension. Elle could tell that Godric wasn't enraged anymore. He wouldn't do anything crazy, like he'd been about to mere moments before. Those eyes. That storm in those grey eyes. He had been ready to devour her and everyone in that place and not bat an eye. Elle had read online that Godric was very powerful. And, Isobel had confirmed it. She'd warned the young girl not to anger the Sheriff unless she had a really good reason. And now, Elle understood why. Godric was playing Sheriff. He was fucking playing house there, in Dallas. He could be anything he wanted. He could rule the damn country and reshape it to his will if he wished. And he still played Rummy with her during stakeouts.

"Where." It was an order. Godric wasn't enraged, but he was still royally pissed off. He had a swab and a tube in his hands, having fetched them from her bag. Elle soundlessly craned her neck, letting him swab wherever he wanted. It appeared that she didn't need to say anything, though. Godric swiped the cotton around the area where Glen's saliva was still fresh, closed it properly and tossed it into Elle's bag. She didn't dare say anything. There was nothing to say.

The vampire drove, not to the familiar property, but to Elle's home. He parked and slid out of the old car, making Elle scramble for the door to follow. But, before she could open her mouth to apologize, again, Godric spoke in a stony voice.

"You are relieved of your duties in the field until further notice." Elle gaped. "Tomorrow, you will work from home and contact Isobel with any new information. Tonight, you're dismissed." And then, without another word, he was gone. Elle grit her teeth, grumbled and stomped her foot rather childishly.

"Fine! Who would want to work with your grumpy ass anyways!" And she grabbed her bag and keys from the car before locking it and entering her shared apartment.

* * *

Dave entered the apartment to find an odd scene. His sister was sitting on the floor of their tiny living room, surrounded by disposable containers. Not good, Dave's mind filled in. He stepped closer, checking out the state of the young woman. She had her comfortable PJs on and was watching a Disney movie on her laptop, eating pizza, chugging whiskey over it, and then eating some more. Really bad, Dave decided in an instant.

"Hey." He greeted in a low tone, trying not to startle her. Elle turned around, tears in her eyes.

"Bambi's mom dies." His sister told him through pizza, before she chugged down some more whiskey straight from the bottle and sniffled. "Just. Bang. And she dies." Dave nodded along. This was really,  _really_  bad. She was watching  _Bambi_. Watching Bambi was like screaming for help off a rooftop for Elle. Dave hurried to his room, peeking to see Kieran and Snuffles snuggled together on Elle's bed. He changed in record time and shuffled back into the living room. Elle was still there, on the floor. She'd moved onto the Chinese containers like a rabid, starved animal of some sort.

Dave turned off the movie on her laptop, closed it and then sat behind the young woman, pulling her to him. She didn't protest, but didn't stop eating either. Whiskey went down her throat again. Dave pried the chopsticks gently from her hand, setting the food and the booze on the table in front of them.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked once Elle was securely cradled in his arms, her side to his chest and head tucked under his chin.

"No." She croaked out.

"Do you want to cry about it?"

"Bambi's mom dies." Elle repeated and then continued to shake with sobs into her brother's shirt as he held her tightly.

**That's all folks!**

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**Sooo, Godric is as possessive as vamps go hahahaha And Elle is still a little kid xD**

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**I would like to thank everyone who left kudos, put this story into their bookmarks or, most importantly, reviewed! Food for the soul :) Special thanks goes out to KuronoVixenYami for the continuous support :D** **Hope you enjoyed!**

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**I'll be looking forward to hearing what you guys think :D**


	12. Other ways

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 12: Other ways**

Dave woke up on the floor of his living room with a groan. Something, or someone, was shaking his pant leg. He opened one eye and glared at the person, not really seeing them.

"Daddy, why is mommy puking in the bathroom?" At that sentence in a child's voice Dave shot up like he'd been catapulted and his head whipped to the side, throbbing instantly. Kieran crouched to his right, one sneaky hand on Dave's pant leg and a telltale smirk on his face. "Is she going to give me a brother?" The kid asked with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Oh, you little brat." Dave groaned, before raking his hands over his face and through his hair. It was time to get up. His head hurt and pounded in a steady rhythm as he got up. His legs hurt, too. Heck, his whole body was pretty sore. Elle had made him dance, Dave realized.

Elle and Dave had different kinds of breakdowns. Dave would mostly lash out, and not very often. It took a lot for his issues to accumulate in a single big ball of angry before it burst. Mostly, he'd yell. Sometimes, he'd get Elle to take him to her police gym and he would punch a bag. A couple of times she'd actually offered to spar with him and promptly kicked his ass. But, Dave let out his emotions in a form of aggression. And, he groveled after his outbursts to apologize.

His sister was different. Elle ate, drank and watched Disney movies. If it was really bad, she would put on some random music and jump around limply to it, like a cooked noodle trying to dance. Elle didn't talk about what was wrong too often. Sometimes she would blurt it out in the spur of the moment, when she'd done enough whiskey shots. But, the worst part of her coping methods was the fact that when Elle went to that dark place of dancing around their living room, she didn't do it alone. She forced Dave into it, too. And, Elle never apologized for her behavior in any way. She just looked guilty and Dave would forgive her.

"You going to live?" Dave leaned on the doorway of the bathroom, watching Elle retch into the toilet. She looked up at him pitifully. Her hair was a matted mess, shirt stained with food and her eyes were rimmed with red. Not to mention that she reeked of whiskey and takeaway food. "I'll make you some coffee, hop straight into the shower and get that crap off of you."

Dave left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen. He quickly made the usual, coffee and breakfast, for their odd group. Kieran bounded over in his new clothes just as Dave was finishing up, a sly smile on the kid's face.

"You ready?" Dave asked, piling a plate for the child. Kieran gave a small nod and hopped onto the barstool by the counter. Dave wondered for the nth time if they should get a proper dining table or not. But, with both him and Elle eating on their feet or in their car more than often, it would be a waste.

"Is she okay?" Kieran asked through his taco. There was a bit of tomato juice dripping down his chin messily as he chewed. Dave extended his hand, wiping it off with a kitchen cloth.

"She will be. She just hit a little snag at work." Dave's expression softened as he watched the kid dig into the rest of the food with gusto. Soon enough, Elle joined them, making a beeline for the coffee mug.

"Thanks." She told him.

"You're welcome." Dave replied with an easy grin. Elle pushed herself against his side and he gave her a one-armed hug, the other hand holding his own taco.

* * *

Dave had dropped Elle and Kieran at the DPD precinct with a battle shout out the window. "Bambi's mom may die in the movie, but Bambi becomes awesome in the end! Go be awesome!" It had made Elle giggle and offer a large wave and smile to her brother, while Kieran had stood there, confused. The social worker was waiting for them at Elle's desk and she took Kieran to her, who didn't seem happy with the situation one bit. But, Elle and Dave had both pitched in and gotten him a cellphone. Then, he could call either of their numbers in case of an emergency.

But, for Elle, it wasn't an easy day ahead of her. She knew that she had pissed off Godric royally. So, she would need to make it up in some way. Her plan was fairly simple: since Godric cut her off, she would enter the case through another door. And, drugs and murder, in the end, were Montgomery's specialty. She easily found the detective trying to go through his morning routine after a night out on the streets. After a bit of begging and bribing, they were both in the Chief's office, getting Elle officially invited on the Marshall case.

When they had all the proper protocol followed, with only a bit of suspicion from Martinez, the two were off to look up all the prominent V dealers they could. They easily narrowed down that Dixie could've gotten her product only from three guys and decided to try and snag one off the street that evening. It was after they parted ways, Montgomery going to look at another one of his cases, that Elle meandered over to Dean's desk, plopping down in the chair next to his.

"You're in deep, miss Elle." Her colleague told her. Elle just groaned, tossing her head back. Everyone had ignored her obvious hangover and red-rimmed eyes. DPD was a don't ask don't tell kind of environment. And, especially so for Elle Hart. "Sheriff Godric was madder than a puffed toad last night. What did you do to him?"

"I promised to be good while he investigated at TBQ and then made out with a vamp in order to get his saliva for DNA testing." Elle grunted out, her eyes closed and her arms resting over them, head still thrown back.

"Well, that's bound to get him ruffled up." Dean laughed. "You  _do_  see how he looks at you, don't you?" At that, Elle's head shot up and she gave him an incredulous look.

"What?"

"He looks at you like you're his next meal, Miss Elle." Dean chuckled. "You know how possessive vamps are. You'd better steer clear of any others if you're planning on letting him down easy." Elle shook her head.

"That's crazy. We're colleagues." She shrugged. "And, we're friends. Besides, look at me." Elle pointed down at herself and Dean's eyes followed. She was in a ruffled T-shirt and jeans yet again, her gun at her side and badge gleaming on her hip. Her hair was messier than usual, in the normal ponytail which Elle had admitted to him was an attempt to keep it tidy. Her face looked like crap, but Dean knew that wasn't a usual look on her.

"You're as pretty as a peach." Elle sat up in her chair, face reddening by the second and stared at him. Dean shrugged. "Not my type, but still pretty."

"W-what?" The policewoman chocked out. "B-but-" She pointed at her small chest and then at her head, looking baffled. Dean shook his head in dismissal.

"Say, have you had a chance to look at the Millers' colleagues' files?" He asked, sifting through the documents on his desk. "I've only got the neighbors here." Elle huffed, but replied anyways, allowing him to change the topic.

"Nah, Harris is keeping a tight lock and chain on them, the asshat." Elle told him. "I've been trying to swipe them, but he's got his eye on me."

"Think he wants to solve the thing himself?" Dean asked.

"Undoubtedly." The young woman replied. They shared a look. "I'll distract, you swipe." With a nod to each other, they go up and headed for Harris' desk.

* * *

Elle leaned back in the driver's seat of the police car she and Dean usually used with a sigh. Kieran was with Amy and Dave for the rest of the day, like their normal routine was. But, this evening, she wasn't going to the vampire estate. Godric had been clear with his dismissal. Elle wasn't to come back until he called for her. And, after a day of working on the Miller case and looking up the favorite haunts of the three V dealers she would be searching for later, the young woman was ready for some playful banter with her favorite vampire. But, not this evening. Because, she, apparently, had him madder than a puffed toad. Elle giggled to herself at the ridiculous image in her head. So, she sought out the next best thing and dug out her phone from her jeans.

"Hello." The smooth voice with a slight accent was familiar to her. "Why do you always wake people up, Elle. It's a horrible habit." Mila groaned from the other end of the line.

"Sorry. I forget that you guys sleep like the dead." There was a moment of silence before laughter rang out from both ends of the line.

"What do you want?" Mila sounded mildly miffed. Elle heard her shuffling about before telltale sucking sounds came from her end of the line. She was feeding and the policewoman hoped that it was from a blood bag or a bottle.

"If you were going to kill a human, how would you do it?" The sucking stopped. Mila hummed to herself, thinking. "I mean, you want to frame a human for it, too."

"Oh…" Mila started drinking again. "I wouldn't leave any bitemarks, for starters. No blood draining, either." She supplied. "I'd use a knife or a gun, probably." She went silent again. "Does that work for you?"

"Yeah, it works." Elle nodded. It just confirmed what she'd thought. No vampire would've killed Dixie Marshall in such a sloppy way. Elle could see the body clearly in her mind, still. All of those bitemarks. None of them had been bleeding. None of them had been open wounds. And, to top it off, Mary had confirmed the cause of death as affixation. Somebody had cut off the air supply to Dixie's brain, killing her. No vampire would go through the hassle of doing that without covering their tracks.

"So…" Mila grumbled. "You only called me to see how I would kill a human?" She asked in an icy tone. But, that voice didn't work on Elle. She'd seen Godric angry. Nothing else quite measured up.

"Yep."

Mila let out a string of words in another language, a thing Elle had come to associate with the vampire being quite irritated. It was a harsh language to the ear. With clearly rolled 'r's and words accented on the front syllables. Something Slavic, Elle decided. Definitely something old Slavic. "Hey, Mila." Elle was struck by a bit of curiosity.

"What." The vampire spat, by then already beyond irritated. Elle wondered for the nth time just how had the two of them become friends.

"How old are you?" The policewoman asked. She had started fiddling with the car, turning it on and preparing to drive. "You're Slavic, no?"

"Good ear for a little human." Mila complimented, reminding Elle of the time she'd guessed Godric's accent origins. "I'm just shy of a millennia. I think that I'm at... nine hundred and twenty now?" Mila mused, causing Elle's eyes to widen. "I lived on the territory which is Slovakia now. It was The Hungarian Empire back then."

"Woah..." Elle nodded. It was like a live-action history channel over the phone. And the young officer was a sucker for some good history rehash. "Do you remember a lot from back then?" Mila scoffed.

"Mud and shit." She growled out. "I remember being buried alive and waking up alone, unable to walk in the sun. Not the memories I enjoy revisiting."

"I see." Elle packed the information away in her head. "Sorry for bringing it up. I was a bit curious about it." She could hear Mila continue to suck on her breakfast. "I like learning new stuff about history."

"Then grab that walking Wikipedia of a Sheriff you've gotten so chummy with and leave me out of it." The line cut off and Elle laughed. Her friendship with Mila... It was different. Elle pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the familiar road. The young woman had never had many friends. Part of it had been her own weird phase during high school. But, another part of it had been the rumor circling around her and her family. How her father had managed to screw up a case and arrest an innocent man. So, most kids had steered clear of Elle in high school. And, after it, she'd already had her walls built. She had some colleagues at the few odd jobs she'd had. She had a few names and contact numbers in her cellphone from Academy buddies. She even knew a few detectives and officers from different departments of the DPD. But, if you asked Elle who she'd go out with to a club, she couldn't answer.

Friends had never been her thing. She had Dave, her colleagues and a whole bunch of trust issues because of the nature of her job. So, being friends with Mila was strange. Odd. Unusual. Elle just  _knew_  that they were friends in her head. Which was even weirder. She had been quite terrified of the vampire the first time they'd met. So, how had she become friends with Mila?

Elle shook her head and parked in front of TBQ. She had one more stop before she turned in for the evening.

* * *

Godric hadn't slept. His anger had left him after a good flight and a dip at the local lake. But, another feeling had taken up that space now, filling it completely. It wasn't rage. He knew rage very well. It wasn't fear or hunger, because they had been his friends for many years. It was something that he wasn't familiar with. A monster which had been inside of him for the last few hundred years. It fought with the beast of hunger he was familiar with. But, when it reared its ugly head Godric fell into true despair. It was like all feeling would leave him and he wouldn't wish for anything. To do anything. He stopped thinking and stopped doing and he just froze. But time moved. And, for a vampire, a being which disregarded time as a mere nuisance, this meant trouble. The last time this had happened to him he had spent ten years under the ocean, just listening and watching the peace of it. But, Godric wasn't about to seek the solace of the ocean again. He couldn't afford to. If he spent the next year, just one year, enjoying the peace and quiet in his inert way it would be a year shaved off of the fragile human life that his liaisons led.

He'd returned to his nest in the late hours, just barely missing the sunrise. And, he'd spent the day in his office. Most of the hours had been wasted on staring into nothing and feeling nothing. Kind of like at the ocean floor. But, in the end, Godric had managed to finish a sizeable amount of his work and Isobel had even managed to get him a video conference with the King at the early evening hours. So, immersed in his work, the Ancient had managed to distract his mind from the monster which trashed inside of him with an unknown feeling.

It was after the video conference that Godric wrote down a few notes, tossed them into a desk drawer and wandered out. He found himself flying, first. And then, he was suddenly staring at Elle's apartment building. Godric wanted to leave. He even turned around to, but then he listened in for a second and identified the people who had turned on the lights. There was a familiar high voice of a child, coupled with a quick, excited heartbeat. Hundreds of years ago, Godric would've been inside there, enjoying the hunt, in seconds. These days, he merely appreciated the sound and thought of the human owner of the healthy organ, the small child named Kieran. And then, there was another heartbeat there. That was a strong, heavy thumping rhythm, which signaled a grown man in his prime. Another good target for Death. But, Godric merely identified that heart as Dave's. He dismissed the dog, which was hurrying around the home, as non-important. But, Godric couldn't hear Elle's heart. Before he could stop himself, he was in front of the apartment, knocking.

The door opened to reveal Dave's face, a little surprised to see him, but the man waved him in. "Come in, Godric. Elle isn't here, but you're welcome to join us for dinner." Then, he stopped and realized his mistake. "Oh, shoot. We don't have any Tru Blood. Will you mind if I just run to the store real quick?"

"Please, Mr. Hart, it's not necessary." Godric reassured, entering the small home and closing the door behind him. Soon enough, there was a loud shout from the boy.

"Godric!" And Kieran was running for him, dog in tow. Godric caught the child when he jumped at the vampire, careful not to press too hard anywhere. Children were fragile that way.

"Kieran." Dave's voice had a bit of an edge to it. "Manners." And the boy looked down at Godric, from his position on the vampire's hip, something that he had seen Elle do when the child jumped at her, and greeted him properly.

"Hello, Mr. Godric." Kieran pointedly looked at Dave then, before asking honestly. "How are you tonight?"

"I'm fine, what about you?" Godric humored the charade. It took him a little while before he managed to distract the boy and get a moment of privacy with Dave. "Forgive me for overstepping, Mr. Hart." Godric came into the kitchenette and stood to the side, watching the human work with curiosity. Dave seemed to be doing a dozen things at once.

"Not at all, Godric. Please, just Dave. Mr. Hart is my father." The human laughed easily. "What's on your mind?" Godric shifted to the side uncomfortably, a very human action.

"Miss Elle… How was she after work last night?" Dave let out a sigh at the question and pulled the pan off the fire, turning the stove off. Then, he turned and leaned on the countertop before looking at Godric.

"I won't pretend to be an expert here." Dave let out a sigh, his hand going to rake through his dark hair. "Elle and I understand each other only about seventy percent of time. We have a deal of sorts, you see? We don't bring our messes to each other, except to vent. So, she vented last night." Godric went to speak up, but Dave held up a hand. "She didn't say anything to me. I have no idea what happened. I thought it was just a bad one or something. You being here, it probably was. But, I'm not really looking to get involved. I'll lend her a shoulder to cry on and she'll lend me her punching bag when I need it. You guys need to work out the case stuff, okay?" There was silence between them for a few moments.

"I understand." Godric replied. "I will try not to burden Miss Elle too much with casework." Dave grinned then.

"Oh, pile them on her, please. She thrives in that stuff. Elle without a murder file on her desk and another tailing job in her glove compartment isn't Elle." Dave smiled at him. "And she really likes you. I don't see the downside of you guys being together." Godric did. He saw many dangers of Elle working for him. He was slowly starting to second-guess his decision to form a department like this. "Take care of her, now." Before Godric could answer, Kieran was back, tugging his cotton sleeve and pulling him to the couch. Dave turned around, starting up the stove once again.

* * *

Elle sat in interrogation room three, leaned forward onto the metal table and staring down the man on the other side. He was a dark-skinned man, just a bit lighter than Montgomery. But, he was definitely less intimidating than the detective when he was playing a drug dealer. Montgomery used his tall, wiry frame and large hands in order to make everyone beside him seem small. He also twisted his lips in a certain way that made you back up and keep silent.

The man in front of her, Malik Butler, was a different type of person. He didn't have the height, but he had the muscle, for sure. His biceps bulged out of the wifebeater he was wearing, coupled with an unzipped hoodie in white and dark blue, telling people which gang he belonged to. His eyes were large and kept a focus on Elle, like he wasn't certain if this little girl interrogating him was some kind of a joke. But, the joke was on him, in the end.

"Malik Butler." Elle greeted him with a small smile, taking out the folder with his previous arrests from one of the boxes on the table and tossing it in front of him. "The Server of the Big Ts. Arrested for assault, possession, public indecency, conspiracy to commit murder and… prostitution." Elle gave him a small smirk for the last one. "Didn't peg you for a gentleman of the evening."

"Look here, lady, whatchu're talking about isn't an arrest. I was  _questioned_ , never arrested or convicted. And that last one, that was once." Malik finally spoke up. "I ain't doing that no more."

"No. You're not." Elle nodded and reached into the box again, bringing out another file. "Now, you're dealing V." Elle had received a call from Isobel that evening. The Latina vampire had briefed her on the current progress on both cases, which wasn't much, and asked about her Sheriff's mood. Their talk had quickly had Isobel sighing and scolding Elle about being reckless. In turn, the police officer had defended, saying that her job meant doing something like that without fear. In the end, Elle had promised to try and appease Godric. Isobel had, in exchange, agreed to print out Malik Butler's file from their system and get it to the precinct when she picked Dean up. The Latina vampire had handed her the black folder and given Elle a pointed look, before asking the young officer to finish this one before tomorrow if she could, while Godric had her 'not working'. Elle had pointed out the Sheriff's ignorant loophole of her 'not being at the office'. She could work as a detective at DPD on the case, just not as a liaison.

"Speaking completely hypothetically here, why in the world would I be dealing that shit?" Malik brought Elle back to the present. "I ain't as crazy as you white fuckers." Finishing tonight or during the day tomorrow was a tall order. But, Elle knew that she was good. She just had to open up her bag of tricks and use every single one of them at that very moment.

"Why were you at The Brides' Quarters then?" Elle asked conversationally. "That's the most famous vampire club in the Dallas area."

"I was hanging." Malik shrugged. Elle gave a sigh, raking her hands through her hair.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Malik. I'm not really interested in you." The young woman told him, making the drug dealer roll his eyes. "I'm looking for the person dealing V because I'm working with the vampire Sheriff." At this, almost all color drained from the man's face and he froze. "He's my partner on this case and he's waiting outside for his turn to interrogate you. So, let's put this in a simple analogy. There's a bus coming your way. It's about to mow you over. Do you want to be under that bus or do you want to get on it?" Elle crossed her arms, waiting. It took seconds for Malik to lean forward.

"Imma be on it, you crazy lady. Listen, I don't deal V." He told her in a hushed tone, glancing at the two-way mirror like Godric was about to burst from it any second. "I deal all the usuals, but never V. It brings in good cash, but it's not worth dealing under an Ancient's nose. That fanger Sheriff is too dangerous." Malik's eyes focused on her. "If you want a V dealer at TBQ, look for Johnny D. Last I heard he was dealing something real good, alright?"

"Alright." Elle smiled and then pulled out a single photo, showing Malik the face of Dixie Marshall from the woman's graduation ceremony. It had been the only good photo she'd found at the apartment. "Do you know her?"

"That's Dixie." Malik nodded. "She's a fangbanger alright." Elle nodded.

"When did you see her last?"

"It had to be a week or so ago. Was arguing with Johnny about the price." Malik stopped talking and turned to Elle. "Wait, is this about Dixie? What'd the crazy hoe do now?"

"Thank you very much for your cooperation." Elle gave him a small smile and started picking up the papers and folders, placing them back into the box. "That's all I've got for you. My colleague, Montgomery, would love to have a chat about the 'usuals' though." And Elle walked out of the interrogation room, ignoring Malik's shouts, a smirk on her face.

"Oh, baby girl, you're as evil as I remember." Montgomery was waiting for her as she exited and closed the door behind her. He raised his hand for a high five.

"Tag, you're it." Their hands slapped against each other and Montgomery strolled into the investigation room, his job half-done. Elle, on the other hand, she had another fish to fry that evening.

**That's all for now, folks!**

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**I hope you enjoyed this one :D I really loved writing Godric here for some reason xD**

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**I would like to thank everyone who bookmarked, left kudos and especially reviewed! Here's a shoutout to delphinepryde84, KuronoVixenYami and Amyliana for the wonderful support! Don't stay silent readers guys, I love hearing from you :) It makes me write faster hahaha**

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**I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts!**


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